The Trail Redux
by BK0610
Summary: A behind the scenes re-telling of how Fitz and Liv met, based on the episode "The Trail." What did Olivia think when she first met Fitz? Why did Fitz decide to take the plunge and make his feelings for Olivia known? Here, we'll find out. Scandal and its characters belong to Shonda Rhimes, no infringement intended.
1. Chapter 1

"And you're right. I would be lucky to have you."

Until the moment those words left the mouth of Governor Fitzgerald Thomas Grant, III, Olivia Carolyn Pope was incensed. How dare he fire her for telling the truth? Was he so insecure that he couldn't handle honesty in the face of his presidential campaign? Olivia's indignation quickly left her, however, when she looked into Governor Grant's eyes and felt IT—a connection.

Olivia couldn't do anything except stare into Governor Grant's eyes. After regaining her bearings, she asked, "This is why you fired me?"

Fitz just stared at her and she continued to stare at him, so confused at this turn of events. Confused, but excited and flattered at the same time. How could she not? Fitz was a handsome man with a fit body and such a gorgeous smile. He had a smile that could melt the ice in Antarctica. Despite the fact that Olivia was admittedly attracted to him, she wasted no time going back into the war room at Fitz's suggestion. Letting the moment go further and possibly grow was not in Olivia's plans. This was a man that she was going to try her hardest to get elected to become the next President of the United States of America. She couldn't possibly allow her attraction to get the better of her. She had to remain a professional. And, above all, Olivia Pope _was _a professional.

* * *

Fitz replayed his introduction to one Olivia Pope over and over in his head. He couldn't believe the audacity of her to call him out on his marriage. He couldn't believe it and yet he loved it at the same time. This was a woman who wasn't scared of saying the truth, no matter how much it may hurt. He was immediately intrigued by her. Despite that, however, warning signs went off in his head after Olivia finished her mini monologue. Fitz knew, without a doubt, that having Olivia around would be bad business. Not because she wasn't capable-she seemed more than capable. But because Fitz knew that she was "the one"...and that scared him. Olivia couldn't be the one-he was married, had children, and was running for President. Though Fitz never believed in something as hooky as love at first sight, he did now. And right now was not the time to have his beliefs tested.

Out of fear, he ordered Cyrus Beene, his campaign manager, to fire her, not realizing that Olivia heard him and quickly told both he and Cyrus that she would simply charge her hotel to the campaign. Even though she was newly fired, she still wished him luck with his campaign. After being called "sausage" by Cyrus, Fitz found Olivia and asked her to come back to the campaign. He told her he would be lucky to have her in a way that normal colleagues or even friends would say to each other. At that point Fitz knew that it was only a matter of time.

* * *

When Olivia told her friend Abby Whelan that Fitz had something she could work with, she wasn't lying. Despite being apolitical, Olivia knew that Fitz was the real deal. Running for President wasn't about power for him, no. He truly wanted to make a difference. After working and hobnobbing with the D.C. political elite for years, Olivia could easily discern the power hungry from those who truly wanted to use their position to make a positive change in their county, their city, their state, the world. Fitzgerald Grant was the real deal.

Fitz being the real deal, however, did not cause Olivia's attraction for him to wane. Indeed, it only grew. Her uncooperative feelings led Olivia to keep up a wall of strict formality between the two of them. While others who worked closely with him freely referred to the Republican candidate as Fitz, Olivia was firm in always calling him Governor Grant. She tried to keep her distance as much as she could.

Finally meeting Fitz's wife didn't make staying away from Fitz any easier. Mellie Grant was a beautiful woman. She was striking and had brains and wit. Mellie was also a cold and calculating woman. Olivia sometimes felt she could see the cogs in Mellie's brain turning, trying to think of a way to get to the most optimal result for _her_, not her family. The idea of Fitz married to someone like that didn't sit well with Olivia. When Olivia explain to Mellie and Fitz that they had to be a believable, loving, dedicated couple, otherwise they may as well throw in the towel immediately, Mellie watched her shrewdly. Though she and Cyrus stepped outside to give the couple privacy, Olivia heard every accusation that came out of Mellie's mouth, including that Mellie had kids for Fitz. What kind of mother says something like that? Did Mellie really prize becoming First Lady over her kids, her husband, her marriage?

From that moment on, Olivia let her guard down a bit. What could it hurt to give Fitz some encouragement, some support? Especially at a time as critical as this. Nothing was going to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I tried to update chapter one a bit (wording and I caught a typo) as well as add two line breaks that I thought were there (sorry if it looked like I just changed POV and scope randomly), but I couldn't. I'll try and do better for this chapter. Thanks so much for the positive feedback so far. This is my first foray into writing fan fiction, so I'm happy it's going well so far (which is great because I already have another story idea in the works). Keep reading (and reviewing if you can)…**

In preparing for the New Hampshire primary, Olivia tried everything she could think of to get Fitz and Mellie to appear happily married. From the interviews to the "Teachers for Grant" ice cream functions, she could see that Fitz and Mellie were trying. And, their efforts were working. All of the latest polling figures showed that Fitz made a drastic improvement amongst the voters who just couldn't peg him yet.

All of the family focused events led to Olivia meeting Fitz's children. He had two kids: Karen, age 14 and Jerry, age 9. While Jerry was more introverted and content to sit in a nice quiet room with a book, Karen was a spitfire. She had her mother's sharp striking features, but those features were tempered by the fact that Karen had her father's warm eyes and often sported his lop-sided grin. Karen also didn't have her mother's cold personality. She was fun, loved to laugh, loved company, and was a daddy's girl. As a matter of fact, Karen didn't have the best relationship with her mother. No, it wasn't because she was testing the limits of teenaged-dom and wanted freedom. Karen just didn't click with her mother. Oh, she and her brother were well taken care of and she knew that her mom loved her. Other than that, though, Karen didn't feel too close to her mom.

That could very well be the reason why Karen took to Olivia immediately. Olivia wasn't "The Fixer" to Karen. Olivia was just a young, intelligent, and beautiful woman who didn't mind eating ice cream with her while talking about the latest boy band. Even Jerry, who was pretty shy around new people, had taken an immediate liking to Olivia, and often followed her around like a puppy.

Today, Olivia had a couple of hours of free time. Fitz was busy prepping with Cyrus and Mellie was at another local literacy brunch. Any other time the kids would have been with their grandparents at their family's Santa Barbara ranch. This time, however, the kids were to be at a couple of family events. So, Olivia took it upon herself to keep them occupied. The three of them were in the kids' own hotel room, pigging out on room service and watching music videos. After eating, Jerry lay down on his bed to take a nap while Karen and Olivia sat on Karen's bed. Olivia was brushing Karen's hair while Karen told her about her latest crush at school. Karen giggled while Olivia gave her tips about boys. This was the scene that greeted Mellie and Fitz when they arrived from their respective obligations.

Mellie took in the sight and frowned internally. She liked Olivia. She was smart as a whip and a very nice person. But, Mellie didn't know what to make of the fact that her kids took to Olivia so quickly. Mellie also didn't know what to think about the fact that Fitz seemed to be enamored of her. Not that Mellie cared too much about the latter—she was quite aware that her husband was right on the money when he described their marriage as dead in one of his tirades. At the end of the day, though, while Mellie may not love Fitz romantically, he was her partner and the father of her children. Besides, she didn't want anything or anyone standing in her path to becoming First Lady.

Fitz had a very different point of view about the scene in front of him. Watching Olivia essentially take Karen under her wing had stirred many things inside of him. He was happy that his children liked Olivia and that they got along well. But, his happiness also brought to the forefront of his mind some thoughts that were better left buried. Thoughts about he, Olivia, his kids and a family of their own.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" was Fitz's way of letting his and Mellie's presence known.

"Hi mom, dad. The three of us were just hanging out here since you two were busy. We had so much fun!" Karen said, as she jumped off of the bed to walk to her parents to give them both a hug and a kiss.

"Karen, I hope you and your brother haven't been bothering Olivia. I'm sure she has other things to do besides from talking about Justin Bieber." Karen's smile faltered at her mom's slight admonishment.

"Mellie, it's no bother, really! I had a couple of hours free time, courtesy of Cyrus. Since Governor Grant's parents couldn't be here to hang out with them, I figured I could do it since they already know me and are comfortable with me." Olivia wasted no time correcting Mellie of the idea that Karen was a bother. Ever since Olivia her Mellie make the comment that she'd had the kids for Fitz, she'd watch Mellie interact with her kids. Olivia knew that Mellie loved her children, but Olivia honestly wished that she showed them her love a bit more. Yet, it wasn't her place to let her observations be known.

Fitz took in the scene in front of him."Thanks Olivia. We've got it from here. I'll see you later at the strategy meeting." Fitz nodded at her and gave her a small smile.

Olivia looked at Fitz."No problem, Governor Grant." She turned back and gave Karen a hug."Tell Jerry I'll see him later, ok?" Karen nodded."Good bye Mellie." Olivia gave Mellie a quick hug too, which was returned in kind. And she left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know the last chapter was very much focused on Karen and Jerry, but I just wanted to delve into them a bit more. All of their characterization is mine, of course, since we don't have much cannon to go off of for them (except Jerry thinking the SS is cool and Karen missing her friends…but we haven't gotten there yet!). Also, a reviewer asked me why Olivia calls Mellie Mellie, but Fitz Governor Grant. Well, she does this (for now, at least) because while Olivia doesn't mind being informal with Mellie, she wants to be formal with Fitz because she's trying her best to keep her distance because of her growing feelings for him. Make sense?**

**Now, back to OLITZ/POPUS!**

* * *

"Olivia Pope. I don't know how you did it." Fitz said to her, in a celebratory mood due to the fact that the New Hampshire primary was sure to be in the bag.

"Oh. If we're passing out credit, Governor, you and Mellie deserve most of it." Olivia said, smiling. "You two seem to be doing much better." She looked at Fitz, with what she thought was a knowing look.

Fitz glanced down before looking into Olivia's eyes. "I think you underestimate how good a politician I am."

Olivia would have kept staring into Fitz's eyes had Cyrus not interrupted their moment. Olivia felt like Fitz was trying to tell her something with that statement, that he was a good politician. What did that mean?

When Cyrus let them know that they wouldn't be winning the New Hampshire because of a late breaking story about Mellie having an affair, Olivia didn't know what to think. What she did know, though, was the Fitz's reaction to the news wasn't what Olivia expected at all. He wasn't angry, he didn't look hurt. Fitz seemed resigned and he walked away.

* * *

Later that night, Olivia sat in the hotel lounge, not too far away from the baby grand piano that sat in the corner. There, she sat and meticulously went over polling data as well as made a game plan of how Fitz could effectively get across his message, plan, and goals concerning certain issues at the next Republican primary debate against Republican candidate hopeful Sally Langston. Olivia was so intent on her work that it wasn't until Fitz sat to her left that she noticed anyone else in the lounge with her. She was startled at first, but when she saw it was Fitz, she gave him a small smile.

"Governor Grant, are you ok? I mean…the thing with Mellie…" Olivia's sentence drifted off. She really didn't know what to say to this man.

Fitz gave Olivia a small grin. "I'm fine. My wife and I…we have an unconventional relationship. We may not be in sync, but I believed her when she told me that this was all a misunderstanding." Fitz leaned back against the couch and crossed his leg, making himself more comfortable. His hands were placed lazily in his lap and he starred at Olivia.

"Oh. Ok. Well, we need to start thinking about how we are going to do damage control. Unfortunately, New Hampshire will be lost to us because we were too late to nip this in the bud." Olivia spoke quickly. "But, like Cyrus said, New Hampshire is a small state." Olivia grinned.

"Anyway, I know a guy…I think he'll be able to help us make this issue, if not disappear, diminish in its importance in the scope of this whole election."

Fitz looked bored with this line of conversation. "Well, I trust you. It's obvious that you are brilliant and know what you're doing." Fitz smiled and wiggled his eyebrows, making Olivia giggle immediately. "Enough about that, though. Olivia, you're the campaign fixer. As such you know so much about me. Yet, all I know about you is that Cyrus thinks highly of you and views you as daughter or niece. Tell me about yourself."

Olivia moved the legal pad she had on her lap to her right along with all of the other charts and graphs. She crossed her leg so that she and Fitz's feet touched occasionally. "Well Governor Grant. What do you want to know?" Olivia's expressive eyes looked at Fitz mischievously.

"Tell me whatever you want to tell me, Liv." This was the first time Fitz called her anything but Olivia, or Ms. Pope as he did when they first met. And, Olivia had to admit to herself that she liked it.

Fitz and Olivia stayed in the lounge over the next couple of hours until 3am. There, Olivia gave Fitz a rundown of her life. She grew up in Virginia with her parents Helen and Ronald, along with her older brother Ronald Jr. and older sister Alexandra. Her mother was, and still is, a political science professor at UVa and her father is a renowned cardio thoracic surgeon. Her older brother is a pediatric surgeon and her sister is computer wiz (who currently lives in Silicon Valley). Olivia was very close with her family. They were all loving and tried to be very supportive of each other.

Being the baby of the family didn't mean that Liv could slack off or automatically got what she wanted. No, Liv was always expected to do her best. Her parents only asked that she applied herself to school work and that she picked out an extracurricular activity and stuck with it for a few years. So, an 8 year old Liv decided that she wanted to be a ballerina. She was very serious about it and practiced five times a week. She did ballet (recitals and all) until she graduated from high school. Though she didn't stick with it professionally, she still knew many of the moves and often used her ballet training as a way to work out and keep fit.

Olivia decided to go to Brown University for her undergraduate education. Given the lack of a core curriculum, she was able to spread her wings academically. She majored in both Political Science and Africana Studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. After Brown, Olivia attended Yale Law School. That's where she met Cyrus Beene. He was her Constitutional Law professor. At first they clashed. They'd had a heated debate about some of the pivotal first amendment cases in the middle of a class after she'd been called on randomly (gotta love that Socratic Method). Her classmates were in awe that she had the guts to argue with a professor, especially one as highly regarded as Cyrus. But, she held her ground. While Cyrus didn't necessarily agree with Olivia's point of view, Olivia gained her professor's respect. After class, Cyrus invited her to have coffee with him in the student lounge. From that day on, Cyrus became her mentor.

After graduating from law school, Liv practiced litigation for a NYC biglaw firm for a couple of years. Then she decided to move to D.C.—she'd be closer to her parents and older brother. Plus, Cyrus had moved to D.C. years ago to become an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and to get further involved in the political scene. In D.C., live began working for one of the most well known public relation firms in the city. She quickly moved up in the ranks to become the vice president of her division. A couple of months later, she decided to help her mentor Cyrus make a president. And, here she was. That led to them talking about politics. Olivia wasn't lying when she said she was apolitical. She was the politician's most sought after voter—the independent. She voted with whatever candidate matched her views and concerns the closest. And Governor Grant was, as she told him, a person that she could see herself voting for.

Fitz sat there fascinated as Olivia regaled him with stories of her youth, her family, and her relationship with Cyrus. He was blown away at what an intelligent, active, ambitious, and well rounded of a person she was. And, he realized that she was completely in love with Olivia Carolyn Pope.

* * *

**A/N: So I put a bit of myself in Liv and had her attend Brown for undergrad. Go Bruno!**


	4. Chapter 4

Olivia deftly handled the whole Mellie having an affair debacle as quickly and cleanly as she said she would. Fitz was amused that Olivia always seemed to "know a guy" or "have a friend" that was there for her and could help her achieve her goals. This Huck character wasn't exactly what Fitz was expecting if he was being honest. A man with overgrown matted hair wearing clothes that had surely seen better days wasn't the type of person that Fitz thought Olivia would call one of her own. But Huck was, and he definitely came through for his campaign.

Olivia watched Mellie throughout the back and forth over her supposedly cheating. Despite her denials, Olivia didn't know what to make of Mellie saying that the accusations weren't true. Generally, Olivia tried to follow her gut, the gut which had never failed her. However, it seemed like her gut decided to take a vacation, for she didn't know whether Mellie was being honest or just trying to save face in front of everyone. Or maybe, Olivia's gut was fine, and she wanted to find excuses to dislike Mellie due to her growing feelings for Fitz.

Their late night conversation the night before replayed in Olivia's mind over and over. Simply talking to Fitz excited her. Fitz was infectious and had the most beautiful smile and sexy sly grin. He was intelligent but didn't think that his intellectual prowess made it so that he could walk on water. And, once again, Olivia could not deny how physically attracted she was to that man. She found him to be sexy, and had-for lack of a better term-swag. Olivia wasn't one for the latest slang trends but "swag" was definitely what Fitz had, and he had it in abundance. But, Olivia had to keep reminding herself that Fitzgerald Grant was a married father of two who was running to become the next President of the United States. She shouldn't even put Fitz and sexy and swag in the same sentence since it was so damn inappropriate. Olivia would be lying to herself, though, if she said she didn't want to get inappropriate with Fitz.

* * *

The next two days was spent preparing for the South Carolina Republican Primary Debate. Olivia, Cyrus, and the higher level staff of the campaign drilled Fitz on various issues, including the economy, foreign policy, education and social issues like gay marriage and abortion. Unlike Sally Langston, Fitz was more moderate when it came to social issues like abortion and gay marriage; thus Cyrus and Olivia wanted to make sure Fitz ws able to withstand the serious bible thumping that would come from Sally and those who shared her ideology.

"Ok Governor Grant," began Cyrus, who was taking turns with Olivia as they switched back and forth in the pretend moderator role. "As Governor of California, you have a record of being very moderate when it comes to social issues like gay marriage and abortion. How do you feel your stance will affect you in the Presidential campaign, particularly in southern states?"

Fitz paused before going into a well thought out and reasoned answer as to why he wasn't willing to switch his stance in the hope of garnering southern state support. He explained that he didn't want to be that candidate who had a record for changing his stance on issues whenever it best suited him. He also explained that while he may not agree with everyone's lifestyle choice (when in actuality, he was fairly socially liberal but couldn't say that at a debate), he didn't feel that he should take it upon himself to impose his personal views on the lifestyles of others. When Fitz gave his answer, Olivia gave him a beaming smile and claps, which brought about a full round of applause from the audience.

Still smiling, Olivia said "Governor Grant, I think you're almost ready! Last question: Governor, what do you have to say to those people who have focused on your marriage and the perceived relationship that you and Millicent Grant seem to have?" Cyrus and Olivia knew that there was no way a question like this wouldn't be asked at the debate. As Olivia stressed during her and Fitz's first meeting, family values matter to Republicans.

Once again Fitz paused. Cyrus sat there, his foot anxiously tapping the floor beneath him. But his eyes were on Olivia as his explained that his 20 year marriage to Mellie Grant was fine and stable and they loved each other. She looked in his eyes as Fitz explained that a 20 year marriage cannot be fully expressed, with all of its multifaceted glory, by a series of photographs or 30 second sound bites. It was weird for Olivia to hear Fitz describe how great he was marriage was when she knew it was anything but great. This actually made her uncomfortable. Here Fitz was, explaining his marriage, and Olivia was there imagining running her fingers through his glorious locks. Olivia was finding it harder and harder to separate her feelings for Fitz. No longer was he merely the candidate she was here to help "fix", Fitz was now someone she kept imagining getting to know—in both the building a relationship sense and in the biblical sense.

After the debate preparation, the team went to go get some dinner at a local restaurant. Mellie had another literacy function and the kids were back in Santa Barbara with Fitz's parents. At the restaurant, the team was cloistered in one of the closed off rooms for big dining parties. By the time Olivia was able to get a seat, the only free one was to Fitz's right.

Fitz waved Olivia over. "Come over here, Liv. I saved you a seat next to me." For a moment Olivia hesitated. She didn't know if she actually wanted to sit next to Fitz. Scratch that, she knew she wanted to sit next to him and soak up his presence, but she didn't think it was a good idea. But, what choice did she have? If she didn't sit, people would wonder what was going with her. Cyrus was already looking at her over the rim of a glass of beer he was swallowing. With confidence, Olivia marched over in her 4 inch stiletto heeled boots. She sat down after Fitz had gotten up to pull the chair on for her.

The whole campaign team had an enjoyable and jovial dinner. Being outside of campaign headquarters made people feel free to talk about things that weren't related to the campaign. Olivia definitely took this opportunity to get into another legal debate with Cyrus, with Fitz chiming in on occasion. Fitz preferred to listen to Olivia and her ideas. He was so fascinated by how her mind worked. This was one thing that Mellie and Olivia had in common: they were both highly intelligent women, women who stimulated Fitz intellectually. However, Fitz new that Olivia, for all of her "fixer" reputation used her intelligence for good, unlike his wife who used her intelligence to manipulate.

Olivia kept up her conversation with Cyrus as a way to ignore her proximity to Fitz. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that Fitz was relishing the fact that she was sitting next to him. Every few minutes Fitz's shoulder would brush against hers. Or, he'd steal some of her food right off of her plate and give her one of his signature half grins in response. He was liking this way too much. Olivia felt as if this was Fitz's way of flirting with her. And she liked it.

* * *

Fitz paced back and forth backstage. The evening of the South Carolina Republican Primary Debate was upon him, and he used the few minutes he had left to go over various talking points in his head. Cyrus was also pacing back and forth, but every couple of seconds he would yell at a staffer for some reason or another. It seemed like Cyrus was more nervous than Fitz, a fact that Fitz found amusing.

Mellie was there as well, seated primly on a couch, watching Fitz as he paced. "Fitz, stop pacing! You're making me dizzy. Don't worry you will be fine. You've coached, you've practiced, you will be fine."

Fitz looked at his wife and smiled. Mellie rose up, walked over to Fitz and gave him a light peck on the mouth. "I'm going to go into the audience so that I can be there smiling and waiting for you once you get on stage." Mellie turned and left the backstage area, and bumped into Olivia who was just returning from talking to some staffers.

"Liv," Mellie began, "please go calm Fitz down. He's making this whole thing worse than it really is with all of his pacing." Mellie reached down and gave Olivia a quick hug and then left the backstage area.

Olivia walked over to Fitz. She stood in front of him and Fitz stopped his pacing and just stared at her, something he felt free to do since, miraculously, they had the backstage area to themselves. Olivia reached up and fixed Fitz's tie and smoothed out his suit jacket lapel. "Are you nervous?" She asked him and she finished adjusting Fitz's clothes.

Fitz enjoyed Olivia's ministrations over him and liked the fact that she felt comfortable enough to do that. "No. I'm confident in who I am and my position."

Olivia nodded. "Good. Because you should be. You are the better candidate, Fitz. You will be a great President. You are a man of the people, and they would be lucky to have you," she finished, saying his words right back to him.

Fitz just stared at Olivia, a habit he was now prone to do, for Olivia was just so beautiful that she glowed at all times—even when she was angry. "Thanks, Liv. I appreciate it." Fitz walked away to make his way on stage.

* * *

Olivia stood with Cyrus backstage and watched the debate unfold. It was clear that all of their practice was paying off. Fitz came across as likeable, energetic, charismatic but with the right ideas to back all of that up. It seemed like the crowed really liked him, making Cyrus and Liv very pleased.

"The next question is for you, Governor Grant," began the moderator. "Your marriage has received a lot of attention during this primary campaign. While allegations infidelity has been dismissed, criticism lingers amongst voters. Why do you think that is?"

"I think that…a lot gets lost in translation between real life and packaged news clippings. You can't capture twenty years of marriage in a snapshot. You can't capture chemistry with a photo-op. I know what some people perceive and what the whispers are." Fitz paused. "The most honest thing that I can tell you about myself right now, Kendall, is that I'm a man in love…with an incredible woman."

Upon hearing that, Olivia knew, without a doubt, that Fitz was talking about her-to her. He just told her that he was in love with her. The fact that Fitz sought out her gaze after making his declaration only confirmed her thought. Olivia was shocked…and so flattered, elated, and all other positive adjectives at the same time. But Fitz's declaration sparked something else in her. Her heartbeat increased and so did her breathing. And, she felt that tell tale fluttering in her stomach and tightening of her nipples which let her know that she was in more trouble than she had ever imagined.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the debate went off without a hitch. Fitz was able to make his case for the Republican nomination in a way that Sally Langston couldn't compete with, given her ultra conservative views. At the end of the debate, Fitz shook Sally's hand, amongst the applause of the audience. He was then swept up into a fierce hug by Mellie, who leaned back to give him a big kiss on the mouth. All of this while the audience still clapped loudly and Olivia and Cyrus stood in the wings watching.

A few minutes later, after the crowded began the file out of the college's auditorium, Fitz and Mellie walked off stage to talk to Cyrus and Olivia.

Cyrus was nothing but smiles as he gave Fitz a hearty thumb on the back. "You were fantastic! You easily won that debate. Mellie, wasn't he great?"

"Yes he was. See, Fitz, I told you that you had nothing to worry about!" Mellie gave Fitz a grandma-like peck on the mouth. "Wasn't he great, Liv?"

Olivia beamed at Fitz, she couldn't hide how happy she was. "Yes, Mellie, Fitz was great. He expressed his points very well, was tough, but was likeable. In my opinion, Governor, you hit it out of the park!" Olivia wanted to give Fitz a crushing hug, but knew it would raise questions, questions that didn't need to be raised nor questions she would admit she had the answer to.

"Thank you ladies, it's nice to know that I have your vote of confidence!" Fitz chuckled. "Let's head back to the hotel."

"Yes, lets. Unfortunately I can't celebrate with you all. I have to give a speech in the morning and need to practice and make sure the speech is top notch."

Of course Mellie had to give another speech, Fitz though. Mellie was taking this political campaign by the horns and using every opportunity possible to put herself in front of the public. She wanted to be known and adored. Fitz knew his wife…he knew she was trying to set herself up for her own political goals. To Mellie, she was born to be the First Lady of the United States and so much more. Fitz just shook his head and filed out of the auditorium. Mellie and Cyrus walked a few paces in front of them and were having some type of seemingly deep conversation. Fitz looked to his right and found Olivia walking right beside him.

Olivia, still keeping her stride, looked up at him. "Are you ok Governor? You should be ecstatic."

Fitz had to smile. Olivia had such a presence about her, a glowing aura. Yet it tickled him that it was all packed in such a diminutive package. Even with the 4in and higher heels Olivia insisted on wearing on almost a daily basis, Fitz still towered over her.

"I'm great Liv. I thought I made an excellent impression amongst the voters and I got to get a lot of things off of my chest. I think tonight went very well." They'd made it to the campaign bus when Fitz made the statement of getting things off of his chest. At the door to the bus, Olivia stopped and simply stared at Fitz, her eyes round with wonder and a bit of shock. She didn't think Fitz would bring up his declaration about loving her to her face. "Well," began Olivia, after regaining a bit of her composure, "I'm glad the night went well for you."

"Thank you." Fitz gave her, what she would describe as a sexy saucy grin. "After you." Fitz motion for Olivia to get on the bus. As she walked up the stairs, she could feel Fitz's eyes boring into her behind. Olivia only hoped that it was dark enough that no one noticed. Olivia walked down the aisle to get to her seat. When she sat down, Fitz walked past her toward one of the seats in the back…but not before giving Olivia one more knowing look.

* * *

Somehow, the whole campaign team was able to get checked in and into the hotel before Olivia and Fitz. Because of that, they had the elevator to themselves. Olivia was slightly uncomfortable and horny. Here she was, alone in an elevator with a man—a married man—who declared his love for her in front of an audience full of people. Sure, people thought he spoke of his wife, but Olivia knew the truth. And Fitz knew that Olivia knew the truth. Though uncomfortable, Olivia put up her famous façade and just stared straight ahead, willing the elevator to hurry up.

Fitz stood to her left, and from the corner of her eye, she could see that he stared ahead at the elevator doors as well. But, her peripheral vision picked up the fact that Fitz was subtly moving closer to her.

Olivia titled her head downward and saw that Fitz had taken his hand out of his pocket. His hand lay flaccid by his side until Olivia saw him flex it a bit and take one more step closer to her.

Fitz couldn't help it. He just had to touch her. He turned his body slightly toward Olivia and flexed his hand again. He was so close to touching her upper thigh. Fitz looked down at Olivia, his eyes boaring a whole into her.

Olivia looked up at him then quickly averted her eyes.

Fitz was about to make his move, about to touch her and maybe even kiss her. Then, the elevator doors opened and Fitz heard a raucous applause.

"There's the man!" yelled Cyrus, an open bottle of champagne in his hand.

"Congratulations!" Cyrus and the rest of the staff called out in unison.

Fitz subtly leaned away from Olivia and left her personal space as he departed the elevator. He looked back at Olivia and gave her a look that said "this isn't over."

Olivia merely gave a nervous smile and was thankful when the elevator doors closed. She leaned back against the elevator wall and took several deep breaths. Olivia was took gone and caught up. She was actually upset that the elevator doors chose that moment to open. She wanted Fitz to touch her. She wanted him to push her up against the elevator wall and crash into her with his lips pressing against her. She wanted him badly. Yet, the doors opening brought the realization that they almost did—something—in a public elevator. An elevator that likely has surveillance cameras. Olivia knew she had to get a grip, but it was becoming harder and harder to stay away from Fitzgerald Grant.

When the elevator stopped on Olivia's floor, she got out and headed to her room. There, she left her Goyard bag in one of the sitting chairs and went to look at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. She saw that her cheeks were still flushed and her pupils were dilated—basically, she looked like she was ready to be fucked. Which was fine, but she didn't need the campaign staff knowing that. She didn't need Fitz knowing this piece information either, less he felt inclined to act on it. At the end of the day, Fitz was a married man.

After freshening up a bit, Olivia made her way down to the celebration. The group was on fire, laughing and telling jokes. She could tell that Cyrus was a bit tipsy since he swayed slightly when he moved. And there was Fitz, leaning against the far wall of the meeting space, a beer in his hand, just watching the room. To Olivia he seemed content. Contentedness looked good on him.

Olivia navigated the room and grabbed a glass of wine. Then she managed to make her way toward Cyrus, who was in the middle of a story about his time as a law professor. Of course he brought Liv into his tale and they told a bunch of stories in tandem. Olivia was laughing and about to launch into another story when she felt someone brush up against her. She looked over and saw Fitz standing next her.

"Please, don't stop on my account! Finish telling your story." Fitz gazed at her, and in his eyes she saw a dare. Fitz was daring her to continue to avoid him by walking away from this group of people.

Olivia looked at him and gave him a smirk. She wasn't scared of him. So, she continued telling her story. Fitz would interject every once in a while with a story of his own from his law school days. Cyrus looked at him as if he was a proud father who was watching his kids get along.

At the end of their latest tale, Fitz maneuvered Olivia away from much of the staff to a seating area in the corner of the room. And for the next hour they spoke about mundane things, just like their late night chat of a few days ago. Continuing to get to know Fitz just further affirmed that she was also in love, with an incredible man.

* * *

That night when Olivia was in her bed, she couldn't help but think about Fitz, couldn't help but wish he lay there next to her. She closed her eyes and pictured his face hovering above hers. She pictured his body on top of hers, imagined the way his hands would feel against her body. Olivia began to touch herself to these thoughts. She caressed her breasts while wishing that it was Fitz's hands on her body. And as her right hand made its way between her legs, she imagined that it was Fitz's hand gliding through her wetness. When she came, it was Fitz's name that was on the tip of her tongue.

As Fitz lay next to his wife, his mind ran rampant with visions of Olivia Pope. His penis stood erect in homage to his thoughts of Olivia. Unfortunately, his wife lay next to him, so he was reluctant to relieve his tension from the comfort of his bed. Fitz had no choice but to ease his way out of the best, lest he wake Mellie and hear her complaints, make his way to the bathroom, and quietly masturbate to thoughts of Olivia.

* * *

Olivia was frazzled. There were so many campaign staffers and volunteers that she had to lead. While Olivia had no qualms about taking charge, the stress of the upcoming Super Tuesday was working her to the brink.

"I need the latest poll numbers for Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Super Tuesday is coming, people, and it's going to kill us if we don't say on top of it!" Olivia was leaning down near a table so that she was able to write on her almost filled legal pad.

"Morning."

Olivia looked up to see her night time masturbation inspiration. "Good morning Governor Grant," she said. She felt him staring her. "Did you need something?" she asked.

"No. Just…no" Fitz answered.

"Good." Olivia walked away from him around the table to lean down in front of a computer. The next thing she knew, Fitz grabbed her arm and led her outside of the room. He shut the door behind him.

Olivia leaned against the wall, noticing that she and Fitz were alone in the hallway.

Fitz sighed loudly. He reached out to her and then pulled back. Twice Fitz opened his mouth to start talking and couldn't. He couldn't because he couldn't say what he really wanted to say.

"I'm married." Fitz began.

"I know." Olivia responded.

"I'm running for president." Fitz said, as if that was an explanation for everything.

"I know." Olivia repeated.

"I can't…" said Fitz.

"I don't want you to," was Olivia's response.

Then Fitz said, "But…just..Stand here with me. For one minute. Let's not go back in there or talk or think or... For one minute we just stand here. I'm not the candidate and you're not the campaign fixer. We're just us. One minute, for one minute just…stand here with me."

Olivia looked at him intently for a few seconds. "One minute," she said, acquiescing to Fitz's request.

Liv and Fitz stared into each other's eyes. Fitz invaded Olivia's space and stood so close to her that his hard stomach brushed slightly against hers. Olivia's face was close enough to Fitz's face that she could breathe in his expelled air. Fitz wanted to kiss her so badly.

Then, Liv and Fitz heard the campaign headquarters' door open. Liv and Fitz looked to the side and saw Mellie.

"Oh Liv, there you are!" said Mellie. "You've really got to look at what they have me wearing at the town hall tonight. I really think it's too much!"

Olivia nodded her head and went back into the head quarters to look at the outfits that were chosen for Mellie, annoyed that her "one minute" was cut short by the wife of the man she loves.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for taking so long to post the next update. Life has sorta gotten in the way. Plus, Thursday night and all of Friday was spent on Twitter and various message boards dissecting "Spies Like Us" from top to bottom—including the end scene that shocked all of us Olitz shippers. I'm still distraught! So, I'm going to use this jaunt into the past to give me my Olitz fix and continue to hope that we will be granted some present day Olitz EVERYTHING.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews and follows. Keep 'em coming!**

**As a warning, Edison "Puddin'" Davis makes an appearance in Olivia's thoughts…but I like how I handled it J**

**Now, back to the show!**

* * *

At certain times, Olivia didn't know what to make of Millicent Grant. She was a beautiful woman, smart, well dressed and put together. Olivia knew that Mellie loved her children in her own way, even if that way wasn't overtly maternal. Olivia sometimes liked talking to Mellie, as it was easy to share a laugh with her over a cup of tea and a donut. But, Olivia sometimes found Mellie to be an enigma. She couldn't always pinpoint in which direction the older woman's thoughts were heading.

After Olivia looked at the outfit chosen for the Town Hall, Olivia agreed with Mellie that it was indeed "too much." The outfit made her look manor born—which she was, but that went fully against the "man of the people" persona the campaign was trying to paint for Fitz. Having his wife dress in that way would only serve to unravel some of the work Olivia and Cyrus did to make sure the "man of the people" image took hold and stayed in the minds of voters. So, Olivia took it upon herself to peruse the two racks of clothing that had been brought in for Mellie's campaign speaking engagements. Olivia pulled out a slim black pencil skirt and a white button down silk blouse.

"Mellie, what about this? It's simple, but classic. It's an outfit that has stood the test of time, but is relate-able for women with different sized wallets. Just keep the jewelry understated—only wear studs in your ears. No necklace, no bracelets. And just put on some classic black pump, just don't wear the ones with the signature red Louboutin soles."

Mellie cocked her head to the side and went over the look in her head. "That works. Simple but classic, just my style. I don't know what we'd do without you, Liv." Mellie gave Liv a smile and walked away, clothes in hand.

Olivia smiled back at Mellie and went to join the rest of the campaign staff, hoping that someone actually headed her request for the polling numbers from the states she rattled off a few minutes ago, and thankfully someone did. Once one of the staffers saw her, she immediately had latest poll numbers from Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alabama in her hand. While she clearly had work to do, she did use this opportunity to both stay away from Fitz—who was right there in the thick of things with his campaign staffers—and decompress from their "one minute." Olivia knew that it was a lucky thing that Mellie walked in when she did, for Olivia was almost positive that had Mellie saw them in another twenty sections, she'd have caught them kissing.

Chuckling internally, she thought about her love life and the irony that she was pretty sure she'd found the love of her life, and this person was married, with children, and running for President. Oh, Olivia loved before. She'd actually been engaged to a decent enough guy named Edison Davis. Olivia could even concede to the fact that they were good together—but, there was no real fire between them. She was with him for so long and engaged to him because he was a good guy, the type of guy many woman would want to be with. On paper, Olivia and Edison looked like a power couple. But, the relationship and engagement fizzled and Olivia couldn't really say that she was sorry about that. And now, after seeing Mellie and Fitz's marriage, she wondered if she dodged the "marrying a person because it makes sense" bullet by calling off the engagement with Edison.

Olivia gave her head a discrete shake. She had a job to do, a campaign to help run. Regardless of her very strong feelings for Fitz, she couldn't act on them.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Olivia and her small core team, including Cyrus, reviewed latest polling numbers and thought of strategies for ways to increase Fitz's presence amongst voters, including the much courted female voter block. The team decided that a campaign stop in Georgia was needed, and Cyrus added to that by deciding to organize an event a famous Georgia bakery. What better way to talk to women than over some nice Georgia peach pie or cobbler, Cyrus had stated to the group. After the idea picked up traction amongst the group, Cyrus gave Mellie a call and told her she would definitely need to be there, as having Fitz's wife there could only help amongst female voters.

Olivia was very happy with the result of this strategy meeting and went off to look for Fitz to give him the update, but then her cellular began to ring and vibrate. She reached into her back jeans pocket for her phone, pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. Karen G showed up on the screen.

"Karen! How are you, sweetie?" Liv asked Fitz's little girl.

"I'm great, Liv!" was Karen's response. Olivia walked over to a quiet corner so she could continue speaking to the teen.

"Are you looking for your dad, Karen? I know he's around here somewhere…"

"No Liv, I need to speak to you. Remember the guy I was telling you about? Jeremy Matthews? Well, he asked me to go to the winter formal with him!"

"Oh wow, Karen that's fantastic!" And Liv thought to herself at least someone got to be with the man they liked. How sad was it to be jealous of a teenager?

"Yea. But, the problem is, Liv, mom and dad said that I can't date until I'm 16! What am I going to do? I really want to go to the dance. Freshman aren't even allowed to go to this dance unless they are asked out by an upperclassman. It's totally cool that I was asked, all of my friends are jealous!"

"Karen," Olivia began with a mock sternness in her voice. "Do you want me to talk to your parents for you?"

"Oh please please please, Liv! Talk to dad, ask him if I can go. He'll listen to you, he always listen to you. And once Dad is on my side, Mom will probably cave too."

"I don't know, Karen. I mean, your parents probably have good reasons for not wanting you to date until you are 16. How old is this Jeremy fellow, again?" Liv asked.

"Liv, he's only 15. He's a sophomore. And he's so nice and respectful. He's not one of those rowdy jock types. Honestly, he's just a cute but dorky guy. He's also super funny, which is why he's popular despite being dorky. C'mon Liv, I know why you're worried, but Jeremy is a good guy. Please talk to dad for me."

Olivia waited a beat. "Ok Karen, I'll talk to him. I can't promise that I can get him to agree, but I'll try. Deal?"

"Deal! Thanks so much Liv! You're the best!" Karen said, with obvious delight in her voice.

"Yea yea, you say that now! Tell Jerry I said hello for me, will you? Talk to you later, Karen." Olivia disconnected the call and grinned. Oh, to be young again. She was so caught up in her thoughts of Karen that she didn't notice Fitz walk up to her.

"What are you grinning about, Liv?" Fitz said, clearly startling Olivia who jumped.

"Fitz! You startled me!"

Fitz chuckled. "Sorry about that. Seriously, though, what were you grinning about?"

Olivia figured there was no time like the present. "Well, funny you should ask that as I was going to go looking for you. I just got off the phone with your lovely daughter."

"Karen? Really? You too are on such good terms that you are now phone buddies?" Fitz didn't even want to think about why he liked the idea of Karen getting along with Liv so much.

"Well, why not? Karen's a sweet girl. I mean, unless you are uncomfortable with us being friends…" Olivia trailed off.

"No no. By all means. I have no problem with my kids liking you. So, tell me what about Karen's call made you want to start a quest to search for me?" Fitz gave her what she thought of as his signature smirk.

"Well…Karen wants to know if she can go to her school's annual winter formal with a nice young man named Jeremy." Olivia looked at him with what she hoped was a hopeful and imploring look.

"Winter formal? With a boy? No. Karen knows that her mother and I don't want her dating until she's 16. Who is this kid anyway?"

Olivia sighed. "His name is Jeremy Matthews and he's 15. Karen has a bit of a crush on him. Jeremy asked her to the formal and she really wants to go. The only way freshman can go to this particular dance is if they are asked by upperclassman." Olivia began and held up her hand to Fitz who was poised to interrupt her.

"Listen, I told her that you and Mellie probably had good reason for not wanting her to date now. And, to be fair, Karen understands. But the boy isn't that much older than her, Fitz. And Karen says that he's not the jock type, but just one of those lovable dorky high school guys. She said that he's popular despite his dorkiness because she's so funny."

Fitz just stood there looking at Liv. It was strange that neither he nor his wife knew about this Jeremy character, yet Liv, who Karen had only known for a few short months, knew all of the details.

"I don't know Liv. She's my little girl."

"I know, but she's growing up Fitz. Look, I know Karen isn't my daughter, but can I give you my opinion?" Fitz nodded his response to Liv's question.

"Allowing her to go to the dance doesn't have to equate to giving her carte blanche permission to date. Definitely let Karen know that going to the dance doesn't automatically change the rules. In the interim, you can find out more about Jeremy. If you like what you find out, maybe you can tell Karen that they are allowed to have group outings or he can hang out on the ranch. I think that's a nice compromise." Olivia looked hopeful. She wanted Karen to be able to go to this dance.

Fitz stared at Olivia, appreciating the fact that she was going to bat for his daughter. He huffed. "Ok, but I have to talk to Mellie just to make sure she's fine with this."

Olivia couldn't hide her glee. She actually almost reached out to grab Fitz in a big bear hug but what thankful able to keep her body in check—this time.

Fitz ran a hand throw his brown curls and chuckled. "What am I going to do with you, Olivia Pope?"

Olivia looked at him, her big brown doe eyes wide with happiness. "I don't know, Fitzgerald Grant, I just you are just going to have to figure that out and let me know when you have the answer." Olivia said saucily. And she walked away without looking back. Fitz leaned against the wall and watched Liv walk away and stared at her healthy backside. He sighed again and started to walk, following in Liv's footsteps.

* * *

The campaign crew, including Mellie, made their way to the town hall meeting without a hitch. Before going on stage, Olivia once again told Fitz that his tie had to go.

"What's wrong with this tie now? We're not going to be on tv…"

"It's still distracting. The polka dots are not good in this instance. Luckily for you…" Olivia revealed a slim box that she'd behind hiding behind her back. She handed the box to Fitz, who proceeded to tug on the red ribbon keeping the box closed. He lifted the lid and found an understated Hermès silk tie.

"Liv. You didn't have to do this."

"I know I didn't. But, I'm sorry to say, you have such awful tastes in ties! And, I can't just accost every male staffer when you need to make a public appearance. And, it's spill proof!"

"My tastes in ties are awful?" Fitz laughed at Olivia's shrug. "Doesn't this counter act the whole everyday guy thing you and Cy and trying to put out there?"

Olivia responded, "I thought about it. No, it doesn't because the tie isn't ostentatious or flashy. It's a regular tie that doesn't stand out. No one would know the brand unless they flipped the tie over or was a frequent shopper at the type of store that carried this brand."

"Ok then." He set the box on the table and removed the tie he was wearing. Then he lifted up his collar and reached for the new tie in the box. When Fitz began trying to fashion the tie into a Windsor knot, Olivia stepped in front of him and pushed his hands away and began fashioning the knot herself.

"So, now have you decided who you are voting for?" Olivia laughed at his question and the déjà vu it provoked. She remembered another time where she stood in front of Fitz tying his tie right before an interview. She's told him that he would have to earn her vote like any other candidate.

"Well, you are definitely a better candidate than Sally Langston, so no question there. And it looks like the Democratic frontrunner is Governor Reston. I don't much care for some of his views. So…yea, you're getting closer to earning my vote." Olivia finished the tie and the pulled down Fitz's collar and smoothed out his jacket lapel. She inspected her handiwork and was please.

"Ok Governor Grant. Go out there and show them why you are the man of the people."


	7. Chapter 7

The town hall meeting went off without a hitch. The smaller venue allowed for Fitz to take many audience questions and allowed him to really get the chance to explain his views or certain things, such as the war on terrorism, the increasing deficit, and the like. The smaller scale venues really allowed Fitz to show his true self, something he preferred more than the grand-standing and posturing required for the larger crowds.

Mellie was there, wearing what Fitz assumed was the outfit that Liv picked out for her. And, Mellie was wearing her usual public façade, that of the dedicated First Lady of California, ready to listen to the plight of her constituents. If Fitz didn't have the requisite control over his facial expressions at that very second, he would have certainly rolled his eyes or given what his kids refer to as a "side-eye", which he assumed was some new slang term for looking at people as if they were crazy.

Once the speech and question & answer session were done, Fitz mingled amongst the crowd. During his walk through amongst the crowd, Fitz saw Cyrus out of the corner of his eye and overhead his campaign manager singing his praises about Fitz's accomplishments as Governor and California and noting how Fitz could bring the same economic resurgence to the country at large if elected President. Mellie continued to make her rounds, of course. Given that Fitz knew his wife of many years, he knew that Mellie was already laying the groundwork for her own future political campaign.

Fitz tried to subtly search the crowd for Olivia, though it was hard to look for the petite woman while in the middle of a conversation regarding deficit. But, find her he did. He was always able to find Olivia in a room, no matter how crowded it was. It was as if he had an internal homing beacon that was tuned to her. Luckily, it wasn't until the older gentleman who had Fitz's ear and who was ranting about the current Democratic President's stance on spending and the deficit walked away that Fitz's internal beacon sounded the alarm. Fitz turned his head and saw Olivia at the drink table, making herself a cup of tea. Fitz just stared at her for a few seconds longer than what would pass for appropriate. He looked over her body, enjoying the way she looked tonight in black tapered pants that hugged her rear very nicely and an off white silk blouse that had just the right amount of buttons undone to be alluring but not inappropriate. And, of course, Olivia wore her customary 5 inch platform heels. He didn't understand how Olivia could walk so fast in those things without breaking a leg. But, Fitz would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't enjoy watching her stride in those shoes, as they made her already great looking legs and ass look even better.

Olivia stood at the drink table and added some creamer to her tea. It wasn't until she reached over for a red stirrer that she felt as if she were being watched. Olivia looked over her shoulder and saw Fitz watching her. Olivia couldn't help it, she felt her face begin to heat and knew she was blushing. Fitz smiled at her, one of his gorgeous smiles, and she saw him begin to move toward her. When he was a mere two feet away from her, though, Fitz was once again sidetracked by an eager audience member who wanted the chance to converse Fitz. Olivia, disappointed about not being able to steal a few moments with Fitz, just looked at Fitz with a small smile and slight shrug of her shoulders. She turned her focus back her tea, stirred it, and went off to talk to other prospective voters.

It was getting late and Fitz was more than ready to call it a night. He wasn't the only one, as most of the town hall participants and audience members had already gone. Fitz found Cyrus and gave him a curt nod, letting him know that he was ready to go, and Cyrus gave a nod of his own, signaling his agreement and understanding and Fitz watched Cyrus walk over to Mellie to let her know that the night was over. Fitz happily took it upon himself to seek out Olivia, who he found talking with one of the younger male audience members. As Fitz walked over, he saw Olivia throw her head back in a hearty laugh and light touch the guy's arm. At that moment Fitz felt a surge of jealousy. It was irrational, he knew, as he had no claim on Olivia. But, when is jealousy ever really rational? Fitz continued walking toward the pair and sidled up to Olivia.

"Governor Grant!" Olivia exclaimed. "Meet Jacob."

Fitz extended his hand to shake Jacobs, and perhaps but a little more strength in the handshake than was absolutely necessary. Fitz thought he saw a slight wince on Jacob's face, but that could have been his imagination.

"Hello Governor Grant. I really enjoyed what you had to say tonight. You really fleshed out your position and platform. I really think you convinced a few undecideds tonight."

"Well, that's great news! It's nice to know my message is being heard and understood. I thank you for coming," Fitz said, meaning it though he was annoyed at how personal this Jacob person was getting with Olivia. Fitz looked at Olivia expectantly and said, "Liv, we're heading out now."

"Ok." Olivia said. She looked at Jacob and shook his hand. "It was great meeting you tonight Jacob! Thank you for coming, we all appreciate your support."

"It's no problem at all. Governor Grant, you have my vote. Olivia, it was nice to meet you. If you come back around these parts, feel free to give me a ring." Jacob said. He shook Olivia's hand and walked away.

Olivia looked at Fitz. "He was nice, right?" she said, as they began walking toward the exit, Fitz shortening his stride to match hers so that they could walk side by side.

"He seemed nice from the two sentences we exchanged. I'm sure you got to know him much better. You looked like you were having a good time when I walked up." Fitz said, in what he hoped was an indifferent voice instead of having his slight annoyance manifest itself in his tone.

Olivia kept up her stride, but looked at Fitz. Internally, she smiled. Was he jealous?

"Well, he was nice. And, Governor, it's great that we had a good amount of young audience members. As you know, the young adult vote is becoming more and more important this days, and your party hasn't had the best luck with attracting them." Olivia said, trying to infuse both levity and a strategy session in her comment. She reached the door to the lobby exit and before she could push the door open, Fitz opened and held the door for her.

"Thank you. You did a great job tonight, by the way," said Olivia as she and Fitz walked toward the two black Lincoln Towncars that were waiting for the four of them. When they reached the first, Olivia reached up and fingered the tie around Fitz's neck. Touching his tie or lapel were innocuous ways to indulge her urge to touch him "The tie looks good on you." She said, with her head titled up toward him and a big smile on her face.

It took everything inside of Fitz not to just lean down and kiss her. "Well, my benefactor has great tastes, apparently better than my own taste in ties." Fitz said with a smile of his own. The pair continued to stare at each other until they heard Cyrus' and Mellie's voices becoming louder, indicating that they were walking toward them.

Olivia took a subtle step back away from Fitz, her hand dropping away from his chest. "Good night, Mellie, Governor Grant. We will see you both bright and early tomorrow on the bus. Georgia awaits us." Olivia and Cyrus walked to the second car. Olivia opened the door to the backseat. Before getting it she looked at Fitz, who was ushering Mellie into the car. He gave her a nod at her mouthed "Good night" and she got into the car.

* * *

The senior members of the Grant campaign, including Fitz and Mellie, and the press corps were on the bus the next morning on their way to a campaign event. Olivia, Cyrus, Fitz and Mellie were seated near the back of the bus. Olivia had her laptop and various polling papers spread on a table in front of her, her bottle of Poland Springs water nearby. Fitz sat in front of her, seemingly relaxed until Olivia and Cyrus began to lament the fact that Fitz was still down in the polls amongst women.

"I crushed her that debate, the whole country saw it!" exclaimed Fitz, a look of exasperation on his face.

"It's hard to win over women when there's a viable female candidate in the race. They've been waiting a long time," answered Olivia. Then Olivia had to nip Cyrus's plan to expose Langston's previous college fueled drug use by pointing out that the fact that Sally found God pretty much absolved her of "youthful indiscretions." Cyrus could only state that they couldn't win without women.

"No!" Fitz, began, "you take the opposition research and you put it in the garbage. We're playing the rest of the game above board, win or lose."

Olivia could only look at Fitz with admiration. She knew he wanted to win badly, but appreciated the fact that he wanted to do things his way, in a way that he could be proud of.

Once at the Georgia bakery, after having one of the best pieces of pie in his life, Fitz could do nothing to hide the look of incredulity on his face upon listening to Mellie tell a crowd of Georgia women that she'd recently suffered a miscarriage. In his mind Fitz could only think to himself that Mellie had actually gone off of the deep end in her never ending quest to become First Lady. He couldn't believe that she would lie to a group of woman about something so painful as having a miscarriage just to endear him to female voters. Despite his years in politics, Fitz wasn't a complete cynic and would never have imagined doing something like this. But, there was nothing he could do except hug his wife in front the crowd.

Olivia stood in the back of the bakery and watch the whole exchange and telling of the story with a certain measure of sorrow. No family should have to go through that, and from what she knew, Fitz was a great dad who actually enjoyed the role of being a father. She didn't know if she could say the same about Mellie, but she felt for the woman as well.

* * *

"I was sorry to hear about your loss," Olivia began, after she sat down in the empty seat next to Fitz near the back of the bus. "Are you…is Mellie ok? If she needs to take a break from the campaign I'm sure we could—"

"Mellie's fine. She flew to Alabama. She's doing twelve campaign stops in two days. She's thrilled. Nothing keeps that woman down, not even a fake miscarriage."

Olivia looked at him, her face of mixture of shock and confusion.

"She's a real catch, my wife. I'm a lucky man."

"I'm sorry…" Olivia didn't know what to say after that. What could she say?

"Oh, God. Please don't. Don't be nice to me." said Fitz, turning his head to face the window. "I'm sitting here complaining to you about my wife, which is sleazy and low and not fair to you and the oldest trick in the book." Fitz gave a slight chuckle and leaned his head back against the headrest and looked up at the bus's ceiling. "Suddenly I'm looking down at myself and I'm…How did I get here? Why didn't I meet you sooner?" Fitz turned to look at Olivia. "What kind of a coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up?"

Olivia didn't know how to reply to Fitz's confession. She was more than flattered. This man just told her that he wished he'd waited for her to come into his life. She didn't even know where to begin.

"Governor Grant…" Olivia began.

"Oh, for God sake. We are so beyond the "Governor Grant" crap." Fitz said and Olivia smiled. "Just say my name," Fitz implored her.

"That's crossing a line, it would be inappropriate."

"Then let's be inappropriate." And there it was. Fitz gave her that grin that just made her melt. To say Fitzgerald Grant had charm would be one of the biggest understatements ever. "Say my name." Fitz asked her again, staring at her.

Olivia looked ahead at the seat in front of her then looked down at her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fitz turn his face away from her and begin to stare out of the window. Olivia sat there, wanting to say his name but not being able to. It was as if her mouth was working against her, and wouldn't do what her brain was telling it to do. She swallowed and parted her lips. Then she turned her head to face him.

"Fitz." Olivia said softly and smiled after she said it. It felt good to say it out loud instead of merely thinking it.

To Fitz, his name coming from Olivia's mouth sounded like a prayer. Fitz moved his right hand off of his lap and rested in the in center between his and Olivia's thigh. Olivia understood, and intertwined her left hand with his, their fingers linking, and resting on the chair so that no one would be the wiser. Fitz flexed his fingers as a way to rub against Olivia's fingers. At one point Olivia extracted her linked fingers from Fitz's, and used her fingers to lightly skim Fitz's hand. It felt like a whisper on Fitz's flesh. Then Olivia began to draw fingers and letters on Fitz's hand which made him grin. That sat like that, hand in hand or hand playing with hand, for the entire bus ride back to the hotel.

* * *

**A/N: Y'all already know what the next chapter is going to be about! Just a warning—story rating will be changed to M with the release of the next chapter. Yep. :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

When the bus pulled up into the hotel's entry way, the lights in the bus's cabin were turned on. From the time Olivia had finally broken down and said "Fitz", she and Fitz kept their hands linked or touching in some way. Now that the lights were on, Olivia subtly shifted so that no one on the bus, as they stretched and gathered their things, could see their hands entwined. Without looking at Fitz, Olivia got up and went to grab her black Goyard bag from her previous seat near the front of the bus. Olivia stood behind the people already lined up in front her waiting to exit the bus. Once she made her way down the bus's stairs, she went to search for her luggage amongst all of the bags already being pulled out from the bus's storage area. Without looking over her shoulder, she could feel Fitz behind her, watching her while pretending to look for his own baggage.

"Liv, Fitz, over here!" called Cyrus. Apparently, he'd already grabbed his baggage, along with hers and Fitz's. Olivia walked toward the older man, well aware of the man following behind her.

"Thanks Cyrus," said Fitz, as he grabbed his suitcase. Olivia followed suit, grabbing her own suitcase and following behind the two men. They walked through the hotel's entrance and checked in for the night. After doing that, room card keys in their hands, they made their way to the elevator bank. When the elevator door opened, both Cyrus and Fitz stood to the side letting Olivia go in first, as manners dictated. Fitz then went in and stood as close as possible to Olivia as he could with Cyrus sharing the elevator with them. Cyrus pressed the number 5 and they made their way up to their floor. Once they got to their floor, they made their way down the hall, each in search of their room for the night.

After Olivia told Cyrus how early their day was to start, he made a beeline for his room. They were all tired, but Cyrus was being put through the ringer. All he wanted to do was sleep and not think about the morning prayer meeting he was to be subjected to. Cyrus had previously joked that if they only knew how much he _didn't_ need their prayers, which made both Olivia and Fitz chuckle. Once Cyrus was in his room, only Olivia and Fitz were in the hall. Olivia just kept walking toward her room, nervous that Fitz would say something to her about their on the bus hand holding. She could feel Fitz's eyes traveling over her body. It was both disconcerting and sexy at the same time.

Olivia walked up to her door. "This is me," she said, not looking at Fitz, looking down at her shoes.

"I'm down there," Fitz said, looking down the hall at his assigned room.

Olivia didn't bid Fitz good night and go in her room. Instead she stood there at the door, a door which she was now staring at. Indecision was plaguing her. She knew she should go into her room—alone. But she wanted to invite him in, and continue whatever it was that they started on the bus.

"Just go in your room and close the door and we'll pretend this never happened," Fitz said. He could see that Olivia was fighting with herself. He wanted to give her an out, wanted to let her have the choice instead of steam rolling over her agency. Olivia still hesitated, despite Fitz's suggestion.

"Go in your room," Fitz said again as he stood watching her still form.

The wheels in Olivia's head were always turning. She was always thinking, think about the next move and the next step and whatever else needed to be done to handle a situation. But this time, she didn't want to think. She didn't want to think about how whatever step she took today would affect her steps tomorrow. She just wanted to _feel_, consequences be damned. With that, she glanced at Fitz's room door and made her way toward it, it suitcase rolling behind her.

Fitz didn't think Olivia would make this decision. He was so sure that Olivia would go into her room and try to ignore the breakthrough they'd had on the bus. Fitz was ready to let her do that if it would make her comfortable. But, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy. So he walked behind her following her path to his room.

Olivia stood of to the side while Fitz slid his room key into the slot, looking down the hall to make sure no one who would question her going into Fitz's room—alone—at this time of night appeared. When Fitz opened the door Olivia quickly walked in. She wheeled her suitcase in and left in against a wall in the room's small foyer-like area. Olivia began to make her way into the room when she was grabbed from behind and spun around to face Fitz. Fitz was looking at her as if he was a starving animal, desperate for food or drink, and she was the only one who could slake his hunger.

Fitz pulled Olivia closer to him, his arm around her waste. Then he bent down and took her lips with his, pushing her against the wall. Their first kiss was slow and sensual, with Fitz moving his lips softly against hers. When Fitz used his tongue to lightly brush across Olivia's closed mouth, she quickly acquiesced and opened her mouth. Their dueling tongues led the kiss to intensify. Olivia had long since wrapped her around Fitz's neck, her fingers playing with the curly locks near the nape of Fitz's neck. Then Fitz lifted her up and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, maneuvering her feet so that her expensive shoes fell off of her feet. They kept kissing as Fitz walked them further into the room. Olivia hung onto him, her hands on his face, her lips on his. Fitz placed on her the room's dresser and didn't care when he heard the nearby lamp fall to the floor and shatter. He only had one thing on his mind and that was Olivia Carolyn Pope.

Olivia sat on the dresser and continued to kiss Fitz. Fitz was an excellent kisser. He knew how to work his tongue in her mouth and that only gave Olivia ideas about how well Fitz could put his tongue into action on other places on her body. Sometimes Fitz would pull back slightly and nibble on her full upper lip. Olivia hadn't been this aroused in a long time. She could feel her erect nipples brushing the soft fabric of her bra and knew that her delicate panties must be soaked by now.

Olivia was enjoying all of the sensations that Fitz inspired in her body until Fitz took both of her roaming hands and placed them against her chest. Olivia looked at Fitz questioningly, her breaths coming out hard and labored. She was confused; did he want to stop? Did he change his mind? Was she about to be the most embarrassed she'd ever been in her life because here she was ready and willing and the man she loved had a change of heart?

Olivia's fears were assuaged when she heard Fitz utter "Take off your clothes."

She smiled. She reached her and pulled the single bobby pin holding her hair up in a classy knot out of her hair, and let her black wavy hair fall down and frame her face like a waterfall. Then she slowly began to unbutton her silk blouse, almost as if she were teasing. Fitz stood between her legs and stared as each button became undone. The moment he saw a hint of her cleavage he took a deep breath. Not that Olivia planned on stopping, she did take his intake of breath as a positive sign. Not soon enough for Fitz, Olivia had her shirt unbuttoned. Fitz was mesmerized by the sight in front of him. Fitz took a step back as Olivia slid off of the dresser to stand. Her hands undid her belt and the button at the top of her pants. She slowly unzipped her zipper and when that was done, gave a slight push and let her pants fall down her legs.

Fitz was looking at a vision. Despite the broken lamp, there was enough light in the room for Fitz to see everything. There she was in her white lace underwear. Her panties rode low on her hips and her bra, while demure, was sensual. This vision was enough to fuel his fantasies for months to come.

Olivia stepped toward him as Fitz discarded his suit jacket. Her arms went back around his neck and she began kissing him. Once again Fitz picked up Olivia by the waste and she wrapped her legs around him. Fitz gripped her ass and squeezed as he made his way over to the bed, where he lay her down. He couldn't get over how beautiful Olivia was. She lay on the bed, her smooth brown skin flush with excitement. Her hair was fanned around her head like a halo. With Olivia barely clothed, Fitz could see that Olivia actually had a curvy waste, proportional to her petite frame. Looking at her face, Fitz could see that her pupils were dilated and her full lips were even more swollen as a result of their fevered kisses.

Fitz got onto the bed, and was on his knees between Olivia's legs. He unbuttoned his shirt quickly, and threw it down to the floor. Olivia rubbed his rippled chest and played with his chest hair as Fitz rubbed his hands up and down her thighs. The Fitz leaned forward and rested on top of her and started kissing her again. He already knew that kissing Olivia Pope had become his favorite thing in the world. As he lay on top of her, Fitz's hand traveled to one of Olivia's breasts and he squeezed it through the lacey bra she wore. Olivia sighed and shuddered. Fitz moved his lips from Olivia's lips to neck and began licking and sucking. It took everything in Fitz to temper his actions on Olivia's neck, for he knew that Olivia would not be happy with any hickies.

Olivia felt as if her body was being worshiped. She loved the feeling of Fitz's hands on her. His hands weren't soft, but they weren't hard either. From his constantly roaming hands, Olivia was able to pick out a callous on the side of Fitz's left hand. It was small but the extra roughness it caused her skin was simple, but felt wonderful.

Fitz continued kissing Olivia and was now making her way down her body. He caressed her flat stomach and spent time around her navel. He kissed navel and stuck his tongue in it, swirling it around. The sensation made Olivia giggle because she was ticklish there. She could feel that Fitz was smiling, his lips curved in that shape. He continued his trek downward to Olivia's panties. Fitz stuck his face in Olivia's panties and breathed in deeply. The sweet musky scent filled his nostrils. He couldn't take it anymore. He gripped Olivia's panties and pulled them off of her, dropping them to the ground. Then he lowered his face and stuck his tongue between her folds, and gave her one long lick from top to bottom.

Olivia arched her back at the sensation, a sensation that only got better as Fitz continued to lick and suck on her body. Fitz couldn't get enough, she tasted so sweet. He began to focus on her clit and flicked his tongue back and forth across it. He began to suck it fervently, and pushed two of his fingers inside Olivia. He moved them in and out and kept them curved upward, hoping to give Olivia even more pleasure. His efforts increased as he heard Olivia quaking moans and deep breathing.

It seemed like Fitz had been giving Olivia oral pleasure for ages, though it was only about 10 minutes. But, Fitz kept it up, it seemed like he'd never get tired and would be content to stay there for the rest of his life. Suddenly Olivia began panting. She was shocked, she'd never panted a day her life! But Fitz flicking and nibbling her clit made her do it. And then she came. Her back arched and her body froze with her feet pointed in a classic ballet pose. Fitz just kept licking to allow Olivia to take in every single shiver and quake that her orgasm provided.

It wasn't until Olivia's stiff body relaxed that Fitz made his way back up Olivia's body. He kissed her again, Olivia's essence still on his lips and tongue. Olivia kissed him back, loving the taste of her on his mouth. While kissing her, Fitz took one hand and slithered it between Olivia's back and bed. In a classic horndog teenage boy move, Fitz was able to unclasp Olivia's bra with one hand. Leaning up, Fitz gripped the front of the bra and pulled it off of Olivia's body. Now, she was fully naked to his hungry eyes, eyes that zeroed in on her breasts, breasts that were topped with dark nickel sized areolas and small nipples. This site made Fitz even more aroused since he'd always been a bit of a breast man. He dipped his head and began licking her left breast, while his other hand played with Olivia's right breast.

There were so many sensations running through Olivia's body. She's barely come back to earth from her orgasm when Fitz began focusing on her breasts. It was sensation overload. And Fitz was now teasing her. Fitz licked her whole breast and ignored her peaked nipples. Olivia was this close to grabbing Fitz's head and directing him when she supposed he realized that she reached her limit. The next thing Olivia felt was Fitz's mouth on her nipple and all was right in Olivia's world. Olivia was convinced that the man had super powers in her tongue.

Fitz played with and teased Olivia's breasts until he couldn't take it anymore. As it was, his erection was straining against his pants. It wanted to be let out. Fitz got off of the bed. When the cold air hit her body, Olivia sat up, wondering why Fitz was no longer on top of her. She saw him hastily kicking off his shoes. He pulled off his socks after that. Then he quickly undid his belt buckle and pants buttons and pulled both his pants and boxer briefs off at the same time. The whole time thing was occurring, Olivia sat up on her elbows watching, waiting to see Fitz's body revealed to her in its glory. And what a glorious sight it was. Despite Fitz being in his late 40s, he had the body of someone in their 20s. His chest was chiseled and his thighs well muscled. When Fitz moved his arms, Olivia could see the muscles rippling under his skin. And not escaping Olivia's notice was Fitz's erect cock. It was big, definitely well above average, but not so big that any reasonable woman would be scared. He was long and thick.

When Fitz climbed back onto the bed and lay on top of Olivia, they both shuddered at the fact of being skin to skin. They both felt like they'd come home. Fitz stared at Olivia and she returned his stare with a smile on her face. He wound his fingers through Olivia's hair and let the strands fall bit by bit from his grasp. Then he softly caressed her face. Fitz's eyes never left hers.

Fitz shifted a bit so that his cock was at Olivia's entranced. Then he pushed forward, slowly as to let Olivia get used to it. At the feeling of Fitz entering her body Olivia closed her eyes and felt as if her eyeballs were rolling backward. It felt _that_ good. Once Fitz saw that Olivia was comfortable, he began a steady thrust in and out. Olivia once again had her legs wrapped around Fitz and met Fitz thrust for thrust. There was no noise in the room except for the sounds of their heavy breathing and the sound of skin slapping against skin. Olivia grabbed Fitz's head and pulled his face to hers and began kissing him again. She couldn't get enough of his lips on hers. Fitz indulged her and increased the paced of his thrusts. He had one hand near Olivia's shoulder, which gave him a pit of leverage. His other hand was once again wreaking havoc on Olivia's breast.

"Go deeper," Olivia seemed to breathe out. If Fitz's face hadn't been so close to hers, he doubt he would have heard hurt request. Fitz stopped his thrusting for a quick second to place Olivia's ankles on his shoulders. If Olivia wanted deeper, he'd give her deeper. Olivia groaned loudly at the new feeling this position was giving her body. Fitz was hitting that spot and Olivia was all in and she began panting once again.

Again Olivia seemed to breathe out next statement. "I'm going to cum."

With that notice Fitz started thrusting harder, hard enough that Olivia's body moved upward with each thrust. Fitz brought his hand down from her breast to her clit and rubbed it fast. Fitz looked at Olivia's face and could tell that it would only a matter of moments.

"Look at me," He implored Olivia, who had her eyes tightly shut and her mouth slightly open. "Look at me, please."

Olivia did want he asked and opened her eyes. The hard thrusts hitting that elusive spot and Fitz rubbing her clit was enough to make Olivia fall apart in her orgasm. She kept her eyes open just for Fitz and he loved the looked in her eyes as she came.

"God, you're so beautiful when you cum." Fitz said after Olivia regained her composure. He was still hard inside her. He hadn't cum yet. Olivia felt him still hard and knew he hadn't had his release. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and looked at Fitz's questioningly. She was about to open her mouth and speak when Fitz pulled out of her. He picked her up off of the bed and her next to him. Fitz then took two of the big fluffy pillows and rested them on top of each other on the middle of the upper part of the bed.

Olivia knew exactly what he wanted and she was only too happy to oblige. She got on the bed and draped the front of her body over the pillows. She could only imagine what Fitz was thinking looking at her with her ass in the air. But she had a pretty good idea that it was purely good thoughts.

Fitz got back on the bed and knelt between Olivia's parted legs. He reached down and grabbed his still pulsing cock and brought it to Olivia's wet entrance. Instead of pushing inside her once again, he rubbed his cock up and down her length, even stopping for a minute to rub the head of his cock against Olivia's swollen clit.

Olivia could only sigh. Fitz was playing her body like a concert pianist. Then, without warning, Fitz slammed into her making Olivia scream out in pleasure. There was no subtly this time, Fitz's thrusts were fast and furious with almost no finesse. He gripped Olivia's waist and pounded into her over and over. Olivia could do nothing but going along for the proverbial ride. Once again Fitz reached down to play with Olivia's clit in the hopes that she'd cum one more time.

"Fuck. I'm going to cum. Are you close?" Fitz asked her. His only response was the site of Olivia quickly nodding her head. Fitz increased his fingers movements and Olivia came once more. After Olivia's third release, Fitz gave his body permission to have its release, with Olivia's internal walls quaking giving him that extra push. With one final thrust and Olivia's body pulled firmly to his, Fitz released himself in Olivia.

When Fitz pulled out of Olivia's body, his erection was going down. He got off of the bed and went to the bathroom and used warm water to wet one of the washcloths that was there waiting to be used. He walked back to the room to find that Olivia was on her back starring at the ceiling, seemingly trying to get her heart rate under control as well as her breathing. Fitz walked over to her and took the warm rag and cleaned between her legs without a thought. Then he flung the rag on the floor. He pulled down the comforter and sheets on one side of the bed and shuffled Olivia under them. Fitz threw the two used pillow to the floor, content with the two other pillows that were at the head of the bed. He walked around to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers and then flipped the light switch for the room that was stationed on the wall near his side of the bed. After all of that was done, Fitz rolled over and pulled Olivia to him. Her back was against his front and he entwined their bodies together. Fitz wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder, which made her smile once more.

The two of them drifted off into a much need sleep.

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**A/N: So, how did I do? :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

A few hours later, Olivia woke up completed disoriented. Due to the campaign's hectic travel schedule, it often took Olivia a few minutes to figure out which state or city she was in. Then, it all came back to her. She was in the state of Georgia and currently sharing a bed with Fitzgerald Grant, aka Fitz, aka the Republican Presidential Candidate. Despite the admitted flirtation between them and Fitz's public, yet subtle, declaration of love for her, Olivia didn't truly believe that she'd end up in this position. There she was sharing a bed with a man whose body and limbs were so entwined with her that she didn't know where she ended and he began. Olivia took a mental inventory over her body and gave a slight grin at the aching muscles between her legs. She was sore in some places that she didn't even know could become sore.

Olivia raised her head a bit to look at the close on the night stand closer to her side of the bed. It was 5:15 a.m. and the morning's pancake breakfast was to begin at 7:30. She knew she had to get out of bed and begin getting ready. More importantly, Olivia needed to be back in her own room before Cyrus came to her to discuss talking points for Fitz.

Fitz was still sleeping soundly with Olivia's body against his. One arm around her waist kept her body close to his and one of his legs was fit snuggly between Olivia's legs. She didn't want to wake him—she wasn't prepared to talk about the night they'd shared. She needed time to process her decision to not go into her room and instead spend the night with him. Olivia gently removed Fitz's arm from around her waist and placed his arm on his thigh. Then inch by inch Olivia moved forward until Fitz's leg slipped from between hers. She kept her movements slow until she finally got out of the bed. She stood there not concerned about her nakedness as much she was concerned about how she was going to find her hastily discarded clothes in the dark.

Olivia was able to retrace her steps through the room and found all of her clothing. She began to wish that she'd left her suitcase in her room before joining Fitz, for her getaway would have been quicker if she didn't have to deal with it. Olivia had just put back on her panties and was just about to clasp the back of her bra when she heard the rustle of sheets.

"What are you doing," Fitz asked, his voice rough with sleep.

Olivia looked over her shoulder. Though hit was dark, she could still make out the outline of Fitz's form and she could see that he was sitting up on his elbows.

"Fitz I have to go. I need to shower and get dressed and be back in my room," Olivia explained.

Fitz leaned over and hit the light switch and a soft glow illuminated the room. "Why can't you shower and get ready here? Your suitcases are already here."

Olivia continued to dress, now bending over to stick one leg in her slacks and then the other. Fitz hurried off of the bed, his nakedness not a concern. He grasped Olivia's hand which was reaching for her pale peach blouse. The feel one of that one little callous brought the memories of the night before flooding to Olivia's mind.

Fitz tugged on Olivia's hand and maneuvered her so that she stood facing him. Olivia had no choice but to look at Fitz's face because she didn't want to become distracted by his nakedness—but looking at his face was just as distracting.

"Olivia what's wrong? Please don't tell me that you're having regrets about what happened last night," Fitz implored her, searching her eyes with his own.

"Honestly, no I don't regret it. You told me to go into my room and I chose not to listen. No regrets. But I can't stay Fitz. It's early, people will soon be starting their day. Who knows who may catch me walking out of here this early in the morning," Olivia explained and tried to make Fitz see reason.

As always, Fitz had an answer prepared. "Ok then, get your toiletries and stuff and go into the bathroom. I'll get mine too. We can do all of that and take a quick shower, you can dress and then leave. It's not a problem," Fitz rattled off his plan with that sly grin on his face. "C'mon Liv, stay. Don't leave yet."

Sighing, Olivia nodded her head. "Ok Fitz, but no funny business! We have to get ready. Deal?"

"Deal." Fitz nodded his head in agreement.

"Ok then, let me go use the bathroom first." Olivia disappeared, closing the bathroom door behind her, leaving Fitz grinning at the thought of him getting her to stay. Already Fitz knew that today would be a good day because it was starting out oh so right.

When Olivia finished, she walked out, now glad only in her bra and panties after having taken off her pants again. She went to the small foyer to retrieve her bags and placed the bigger suitcase on the luggage rack sitting near the far wall of the room. When she bent over to grab the bottom of her suitcase, Fitz couldn't help but take a good look at her lace covered ass. Though Olivia was petit, she had curves and he was looking at a nice one.

"Stop staring at my ass, Fitz," Olivia said. She couldn't even see him since she was rifling through her suitcase to find an outfit for the day. Fitz shook his head and grinned to himself as he headed into the bathroom to relieve himself. While he was gone, Olivia pulled out a black textured pencil skirt and a white silk blouse with pearl buttons down the front. Olivia preferred her pantsuits, but since they were going to a prayer meeting in Georgia, she knew that the churches tended to be more traditional. She pulled out black lacey undergarments and black silk stocking to complete the look.

The skirt was fine but the blouse had some creases in them, so Olivia grabbed a hanger from the room's closet and hung up the shirt. Just then, the bathroom door opened and Fitz walked out to his own suitcase to grab his toiletry kit. Olivia grabbed her own toiletry and took that and the blouse in the bathroom with her. Placed the blouse on a hook behind the bathroom door, Olivia figured that the steam from the shower should make the few wrinkles in the shirt fall out. Olivia turned around and starting placing items from her toiletry kit around one of the sinks, thinking how lucky it was that Fitz's room had a bathroom with double sinks.

Olivia was brushing out the kinks in her hair when Fitz came into the bathroom. He watched her for a few minutes as she brushed her hair and put it in a high bun. "I don't have time to deal with wet hair this morning," she said by way of explanation. Fitz just shrugged.

In the next few moments the two of them went about their daily morning bathroom routines. They both brushed their teeth at the same time. Olivia would later tease Fitz about what a messy tooth brusher he was because his toothpaste often got everywhere. Olivia scrubbed her face well-especially since she fell asleep with all of her makeup on and—and made sure to moisturize. Fitz washed his own face and shaved his overnight stubble. Their bathroom routine went off without a hitch, without them bumping into each other. They'd perfected a dance that sometimes took couples months or even years to do in only one day. When they were both done they both looked at the roomy shower.

"Okay, Fitz," Olivia began, "let's make this a quick shower. Who knows when Cyrus will see fit to start bothering me about today's activities."

Olivia walked over to the shower and turned the water on. She tested it to make sure the temperature was to her liking. Once she was happy she did a sort of quick shimmy out of her bra and panties and stepped in the showed. She sighed when the hot water hit her skin. She then stepped to the side of the shower spray so that she wouldn't hog all of the water from her shower companion.

Fitz stepped in behind her, his eyes having never left her body. Olivia was intent on her task of getting clean in a jiffy. Fitz watched her as she soaped and cleaned her body with her own vanilla scented body wash and loofah.

Olivia turned her head and saw that Fitz was just staring at her. "Fitz I know you appreciate the view, but you need to get a move on right now!" Olivia said, smiling. That snapped Fitz out of his Olivia induced haze and quickly washed his body. Fitz planned on keeping his promise of "no funny business" until Olivia began shaving her legs. In all the years that had passed since Fitz discovered that girls didn't have cooties and were actually pretty nice to be around and touch, he would have never thought that seeing a woman shave her legs would send blood rushing to his previously flaccid penis. But here he was, water hitting him with his cock standing at attention while staring at Liv shave. He was aroused by the arc of her back and her legs. Though Olivia was quite petite, her legs seem to go on and on.

Olivia has already shaved one leg and had the other leg perched on the ledge. She shaved efficiently, but not necessarily quickly lest she have to deal with any nicks on her skin. Olivia made her last swipe with the razor and ran a hand up her leg to make sure she didn't miss any spots. At that moment she felt some long, hard, and stiff pressed into her backside. She immediately shuddered. Upon standing up straight, she felt Fitz's arm wrap around her midsection and pull her flush against his body. Olivia rested her head back against Fitz's chest, not caring about hair getting wet from the water on Fitz's chest.

"Fitz…we can't."

"Yes we can," Fitz responded, his hands now roaming the front of Olivia's body. One hand played with an erect nipple while the other rubbed her between partly spread legs.

"We can't...we have to get ready…" Even Olivia knew that those words coming out of her mouth sounded half hearted at best, because Fitz's fingers now focused on her clit rubbing small circles around it.

Fitz dropped his head to the crook of Olivia's neck and licked it. "We have time." Fitz continued to play with her clit. Olivia had long since dropped the razor to the shower floor. She was only focused on the glorious sensations Fitz was producing in her body. Her hips moved in time with his fingers. Olivia brought one of her hands to the back of Fitz's head and maneuvered his head so that his lips were close to hers and engaged him a crushing kiss. His tongue was in her mouth dueling with hers until she won out and started sucking his tongue. All the while Olivia's hips were still thrusting to meet Fitz's fingers, fingers that increased their movements and soon brought Olivia to a most welcome climax.

Fitz pulled his mouth off of Olivia's, withdrew his hand and turned Olivia to face him. He pushed her against the wall and moved to crush her body between his and the shower wall.

"I know I promised I'd be good but I couldn't help it," Fitz said as he lifted Olivia up so that they were chest to chest, face to face. Olivia wrapped her legs around this waist and sighed as Fitz lowered her body onto his cock, the shower wall giving her some added support. He sunk into her depths bit by bit until he was fully sheathed inside of her. Then he started to move.

And he fucked her slowly against the shower wall, with the water still spraying against their bodies. The walls slickness helped Olivia push down and retreat from Ftiz's thrusting cock. She moaned—loudly.

"Oh God, Fitz. You're making me feel so damn good." Olivia was so caught up that the fact that she needed to be back in her room sooner rather than later was the furthest thing from her mind. She'd attempted the much lauded shower sex once before, but her then partner didn't know what the hell he was doing and almost dropped her on her ass. Never again did she try it. But now Fitz was showing her what she'd missed out on.

"And you make me feel good, Liv. It feels like you body was made to fit mine," Fitz said before he kissed her once again. He grinded his body into hers, mimicking dance moves, his hips swiveling and entered and retreated from her depths over and over again.

Olivia grabbed one of Fitz's hands and placed it on her breasts, not caring about Fitz's leverage or him dropping her. She knew he wouldn't dare. With her hand on top of his, she squeezed his hand around her breast. Fitz got the message and began kneading her breast like potter's clay, the shower's water making his movements slicker.

"Are you close?" Fitz asked her. The speed of his thrusts had increase and he was nearing his own climax.

"Yea, just keep going," Olivia huffed out. "I'm almost there." Olivia reached between their bodies and fingered her clit in time with Fitz's movements. Fitz couldn't help but look down at Olivia playing with herself. The sight was enough to push him over the edge with Olivia right behind him.

Fitz was shuddering and he had almost the full weight of his body against Olivia, crushing her against the wall. He titled his head down and kissed her slowly, as if they had all the time in world. Then he released her lips and kissed her forehead. Slowly, he slid Olivia down the wall and down his body.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to walk straight!" Olivia said with a laugh.

Fitz grinned, still looking at her. Her face had the glow of a well fucked woman and he loved the fact that he was the one who put that look on her face.

"Next time we're in a rush, I know not to shower with you!" Olivia turned toward the water, now not as hot as it was when they first got in the show, and gave herself a quick after sex scrub. Fitz did the same. It wasn't until he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist that his brain computed Olivia's words.

"Next time?" Fitz was actually scared that this would be a one time—or rather, two time—thing between them. He had already planned some counterarguments to her arguments that they couldn't do this.

Olivia stepped out of the shower and dried herself with the tower Fitz handed her. She didn't even look at him when she said, "Yea, next time. Do you not want there to be a next time?" Olivia wasn't looking at him because she was nervous that he would say that a next time wasn't necessary. Fitz tipped her head up so that he could see her face. And he kissed her again, a chaste kiss but one full of meaning.

"I definitely want there to be a next time…and a time after that and so on."

Olivia grinned. "Ok then! Now, we really have to get ready!"

Fitz and Olivia sped through their routine of getting dressed. Once again, they danced around each other in the hotel room without issue. Olivia dressed herself swiftly, happy that the wrinkles had dropped out of her blouse. She combed out her hair and put it in a lower bun since some of it was wet and she didn't have time to blow dry it. She finished her makeup routine in record time.

Olivia turned around and found Fitz trying to fix his tie. She walked over to him and shooed him away and did it herself. When she was done, she kissed him full on the mouth and then wiped traces of her lipstick off of him. She grabbed her suitcases and walked toward the room door and then turned her head to look at Fitz.

"Bye Livvie," said Fitz. This was the first time Fitz called her Livvie, and Olivia couldn't help but like it.

"I'll see you soon." Olivia poked her head out of the door to see if anyone was in the hall. Luckily, the coast was clear and Olivia quickly made her way to her own hotel room. She hastily shoved the key in the card slot and got into her room. She put her suitcase on the luggage rack in the room and then unmade the bed and flatted some of the pillow in order to make the room look slept in. She grabbed her toiletry case and took it in the bathroom with her and left it on the counter. She ran the water in the sink and shower in order to make the room look used.

Right when she finished this, she heard a knock on her door. Olivia looked at her watch and saw that it was 6:55 am. Cyrus Beene was right on time.

* * *

**A/N: First I want to thank EVERYONE for all of the reviews, particularly the reviews for chapter 8! I was a bit nervous about writing it, but I'm so happy it's been so well received.**

**One reviewer commented on Olivia talking during sex in Chap 8 and if the surveillance equipment picked up on it. With the way I wrote it, I'd say no. I purposely wrote it so that Olivia was talking really low. If you notice, I mentioned that Fitz said he wouldn't have heard her if his face weren't so close to hers.**

**Anyway, I'm trying to figure out how much longer this story will be...I have no clue yet! I'm figuring it out as I go. Suggestions are welcome (I won't guarantee anything, but I'll at least take things under advisement!).**

**Once again, thanks for the support. Please read and review! :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

The pancake breakfast was definitely an….experience. That's the only way Olivia could describe it. Eating pancakes and trying to carry on a conversation with constituents about your candidate's platform while said candidate occasionally shot you knowing glances about the things you did together the previous night was quite distracting. Olivia lost her train of thought more than once while she was in the middle of talking about Fitz's economic strategy. After she finished eating, she decided that the best course of action would be to jump from table to table—skipping Fitz's table, of course—to engage with the other voters and answer any questions they may have about Fitz. Olivia made her way to a table three over and to the left of where Fitz sat and began talking to an older woman who seemed ready to pepper Olivia (or any Grant staffer) with questions.

Fitz surreptitiously watched Olivia make her way around the room. He enjoyed watching the way her tight black pencil skirt hugged her thighs and ass. Her silk stocking clad legs and her ubiquitous stilettos were making his eyes quite happy. The silk white blouse with the delicate and feminine pearl buttons wasn't as tight as the skirt, but Fitz could clearly see the outline of her breasts. After having been around Olivia for the past couple of weeks, Fitz knew that she wasn't one for showing over her cleavage—but the two pearl buttons that were left undone was enough to make Fitz's imagination go wild. Lucky for him, his imagination now had the benefit of warm and soft fact. Fitz didn't know if it was purposeful—and he knew it was mainly just wishful thinking—but his Livvie could have passed for a naughty librarian. All she needed was a pair of black rimmed glasses. Fitz shook his head quickly to rid that image from his head. His Livvie was enough of a distraction without those extra thoughts. Now was neither the time nor place; but when Fitz saw Olivia sit and cross one luscious thigh over the other, his resolve was tested even more. He averted his eyes from her body and purposely turned his body so that he faced the person directly across from him to engage them in conversation.

And so it went. Olivia and Fitz walked around the room, with Olivia purposely avoiding him as much she could. That plan of action worked pretty well for her up until the prayer meeting portion of the day. Olivia thought that it would be an actually meeting—like, in an auditorium with chairs in the shape of a circle so that they could all look at each other while they quoted and read scripture. But, no, they had to go in an actual church for a full service and then have the round table discussion. Olivia didn't know who's idea that was, but she didn't care for it—she didn't care for it because she found her herself seated very closely to Fitz in the second row pew. Somehow, Cyrus ended up sitting a few people away from she and Fitz, so he couldn't be used as a buffer between the two. And despite the fact that staffers acted like bookends surrounding Olivia and Fitz on either side, it didn't stop Fitz from trying to be overly touchy with Olivia.

The pastor stood at the altar and gave a sermon that Olivia found hard to concentrate on because she was too busy focusing on the feel of Fitz's thigh pressed against her own. Occasionally he'd lean over and whisper something campaign related in her ear, grasping her thing in the process. But Olivia wasn't dumb; everything Fitz told her was something innocuous that could wait until later to discuss. She knew he only did that as a way to get even closer to her, to touch her in public without it being as issue. Olivia didn't lie to herself, she loved it, but she had to put a stop to it.

Olivia leaned over and whispered softly in Fitz's ear, "Fitz, this isn't the time or place for this! We're in public, we're in a church!" Olivia leaned away from him and grabbed a bible from in front of her. She opened it and tried to follow along with the pastor.

Smirking, Fitz leaned over, his mouth so very close to his Livvie's ear. "I'm not doing anything. I had these thoughts about the campaign and wanted to let you know before they slipped my mind." Fitz went back to his upright position and looked at the pastor. He nodded when the pastor made a point that had the congregation nodding in agreement.

Once again Olivia leaned over and whispered somewhat roughly, "Jesus didn't die for this! Stop trying to feel me up in church!"

Then, Olivia felt a tap on her shoulder. She guessed Fitz felt the same tap because they both turned around at the same time and saw Cyrus giving them a look of abject disapproval. Cyrus gave them a "stop messing around and pay attention!" look and Olivia felt that she'd been scolded by her dad. She turned around in a slight huff and spent the next hour starring at the pastor, and kneeling and standing when appropriate. Fitz behaved himself for the rest of the service and throughout the actual prayer meeting.

* * *

After the prayer meeting, the Grant campaign head back to the tour bus to begin their journey to Alabama. Upon getting on the bus, Olivia once again stayed away from Fitz. Upon seeing Olivia seated toward the front of the bus and across the isle from Cyrus, all Fitz could do was grin. He knew what she was doing—she was trying to get back at him for his behavior in the church. He supposed he deserved it. But what did she expect? It was the morning after their first night and day of love making, of course he wanted to touch her! Fitz wished he could have cancelled today's prayer meeting and pancake breakfast just to stay in his hotel room all day with Olivia. They could have spent the day making love, watching movies, and ordering room service. Something as simple as that would have made him the happiest man on Earth.

As Fitz took seat near the somewhat deserted back of the bus, Olivia sat in her seat and stared at her cell phone. Karen had sent her pictures of prospective winter formal gowns. One by one Olivia went through the pictures, each dress modeled by Karen herself. Immediately Olivia mentally crossed off a few the dresses; she knew that Fitz, already breaking one of his rules by allowing Karen to go to the dance, would not approve of a dress that an excessive amount of skin. Olivia zeroed in on a blush pink flowy gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was gorgeous, feminine, age appropriate and the color would look nice on Karen's tanned skin. Olivia flicked the photos off of her screen and when into her phone's contacts, looking for Karen's name. Upon finding her information, she pressed dial, put the phone to the here ear and listened to three rings before she heard "Liv!"

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Liv asked, as she leaned further back into her seat.

"I'm great. Did you get the dress pictures I sent you? I need to go back and get the dress by tomorrow, the dance is 11 days away! I'm already so late in my preparations…" Karen said, rambling on in her excitement. Olivia just listened and smiled to herself. She remembered being overly excited about her first dance, too, so she couldn't help but smile at Karen's rambling.

"I did see the pictures and I definitely have a favorite. But I have to tell you, you know that blue dress is out, right? Your dad would never go for that! The slit is way too high and the v neck dips to low. I think your father would want to handcuff your wrist to his and never let you out of his site!" Olivia said, laughing.

"Ha ha, yea I know. I just wanted to try it on," Karen said. "It was pretty, but I knew it wouldn't be ok with dad. Mom liked it, though."

"Hmmm," was Olivia's only response to that. "Anyway, I love the pink one with the sweetheart neck. I thought it looked lovely on you."

"Funnily enough," Karen said and gave pause "that's my favorite too! I'm so happy you like it. I think dad would like it too."

"Yes I think so. Do you want me to show him the picture, or do you want to send it to him yourself?" Olivia asked the teen.

"It doesn't matter, he'll see it eventually. Daddy promised that he'd be able to make a quick trip home so that he could see me off and put some fear into Jeremy," Karen said, giggling. She knew her father was harmless and wouldn't embarrass her in front of her date.

Olivia ran down their schedule in her head. Super Tuesday was in exactly one week. Once that was over and Fitz won, he would have a small reprieve to go home for a bit. This actually worked out very well, since Olivia knew Fitz wouldn't want to miss his daughter's first formal dance.

"Ok sweetie. How's your brother doing?" Olivia asked; she hadn't spoken to or seen Gerry in a while.

"He's ok, still being a brat. Nothing new," Karen said dismissively.

"Well, tell him I said hello and that I'll shoot him a quick email soon, ok?" said Olivia, to which Karen gave an affirmative response. They spoke for a few more minutes, as Karen wanted Olivia's opinion on hairstyles and the type of makeup to go with the dress.

When Olivia was about to say goodbye to the teen, Karen stunned her and asked, "So, Liv. I was wondering if you could come to California next week too? I mean, I'd love it if you could be there and meet Jeremy and everything."

Olivia didn't know what to say to this. There was no way she could explain going to the Grant family ranch to onlookers—or Cyrus. Of course Olivia wanted to go; she wanted to see Karen and she didn't want to be separated from Fitz. But…

"Karen, that's so sweet but…" Olivia began.

"Oh please Liv? I mean, it's because of you that I even get to go! You talked dad into it!" said Karen, trying her best to persuade Olivia into seeing things from her point of view.

"Oh Karen. Of course I'd like to come. But even though your dad will have a small break, Cyrus and I still have the campaign to run. And, who says your mom would want me staying at your house?" Olivia had to through that last bit in there. Mellie liked Olivia, as fair as Olivia knew. But staying in the woman's house when she was sleeping with her husband was just too much for Olivia to think about.

"Of course mom won't care! We have more than enough space! And, oh my God, I can totally talk to Uncle Cy and ask that the both of you come to the ranch! It will just be an overnight trip. You have a laptop, we have wifi—you can do all of our work here!" Karen kept pressing on.

"But Karen—" Olivia began and was cut off, once again, by the energetic girl.

"Liv, by that time dad would have killed in Super Tuesday. All that would be left, really, is trying to find his VP. You can do that from here."

Olivia had no choice but to agree. "Yes, that's true."

"Great! I'll run it by mom and text you with what she says. I appreciate this so much Liv! And the little brat will love to see you too!"

"Ok Karen. Listen, I have to go. Say hi to your brother for me, ok? I'll talk to you soon."

After hanging up, Olivia made her way toward the back of the bus. Olivia could see that Fitz had his nose buried in bunch of loose papers he was flipping through. Fitz was so engrossed that he didn't even see Olivia walk up to his row and sit down right next to him.

"Livvie. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Fitz wiggled his eyebrows while grinning at her. He put the papers into a manila folder in had resting on his lap. He looked over at her. "I had the distinct impression that you were mad at me."

Olivia looked at him with what she hoped was a look of annoyance. "I am mad at you. But, I wanted to show you something."

"Oh really? What is it that you have to show me?" Once again Fitz wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Olivia pulled up the photos of Karen on her phone and flipped through until she got to the pink dress. Handing Fitz the phone, Olivia looked him and tried to gauge his feelings about the picture.

Fitz held the phone in his hand and just stared at the picture of his little girl. "She's so beautiful," he said, his voice in awe.

Olivia nodded her agreement. "Yes she is. This is the dress she decided on after we spoke about it." Fitz nodded. He loved the fact that Olivia got along with his children. It was nice that they had another adult they felt comfortable with enough to talk about their problems. But it also made his heart ache. He could see that Olivia would be a great mother. Given how well she got along with his children, it made Fitz think about Olivia being his kids' step mom. This all only served to reiterate to him how fucked up his life was right now. Here he was in love with another woman and picturing her as his kids' step-mom despite still being married to his kids' mom. Thinking about it, Fitz knew he'd be good fodder for a talk show host like Oprah or Dr. Phil.

Olivia couldn't even begin to imagine the thoughts flowing through Fitz's head. She just sat back and closed her eyes for the rest of the five hour drive to their destination city in Alabama. She was tired from the lack of decent sleep the previous night. She put her hand on the seat in between she and Fitz and wasn't surprised when, not a full two seconds later she felt his hand caressing hers. Fitz picked up her delicate hand and quickly placed a light kiss on it, taken advantage of the fact that the last three rows of the bus was empty. He put her hand back down and let her sleep, which he went back to reading his papers.

* * *

It was a bit after 6pm when they made it to their next hotel. Olivia gathered her bags and quickly made her way to her hotel room before Fitz could catch up with her. In her room, the placed her toiletries in the bathroom and then rifled through her suitcase to find an outfit for the next day's speaking engagement. This time she wasn't rushed, so she was able to iron her clothes and pick out her wardrobe without time looming over her. After relieving herself in the bathroom, she washed her hands then looked at her reflection in the mirror. Despite the long bus ride, Olivia looked somewhat refreshed and her makeup was still in place. She grabbed her Goyard bag and made her way to the hotel's dining area to eat with the group.

Once she made her way downstairs, she saw, once again, that the only free chair was right besides Fitz. Olivia shook her head and gave a small grin as she walked toward the table. This time, Fitz's "Olivia Radar" worked; he turned his head and saw her walking toward him with a smile on her face. She placed her bag on her chair and turned around to grab food from the buffet. When she got back to the table, she saw that Fitz had placed her bag out of her way on the chair's arm. Olivia sat down and began eating, and tried to figure out exactly what Fitz, Cyrus, and Jeanine were talking about.

"Cy, I know that tomorrow's speech is a big one. We're a week away from Super Tuesday. I know that every bit counts, you don't have to keep saying the same thing over and over again," Fitz said as her twirled his spaghetti around the tongs of the fork. Olivia watched him out of the corner of her eye and he brought the fork to his mouth. Seeing him slip the single strand of spaghetti made her think of Lady and the Tramp, and she wished they could re-enact that famous scene of Lady kissing the Tramp after unknowingly trying to devour the same piece of spaghetti. Olivia turned her head to focus on her own plate of food and stabbed a meatball with her fork and bringing it to her mouth. While chewing she heard Jeanine say something but didn't really pay attention until Cyrus called her name.

"Liv. Liv! What do you think?" Cyrus asked her pointedly.

Olivia swallowed the meatball and took a sip of water. "I think Fitz is ready. He has a great chance of winning. He knows what he has to do."

"Thank you Olivia! Now, everyone, let's eat and enjoy this early night!" Fitz gave her a small nod and patted her on the thigh and went back to his plate of spaghetti.

* * *

When it was time to retire for the night, Fitz found himself alone in his hotel room. Once again, he and Liv shared the floor. This time, however, she did go into her room. He didn't understand why Liv didn't spend the night again. The floor was pretty much deserted, and Cyrus was one floor above them this time. But he didn't fight her. Sometimes fighting with Olivia Pope was just too much to handle. Fitz figured that he'd give her her space and just hoped that she didn't regret anything between them.

After showering, Fitz lay in the bed with the tv turned to the news. He had called Karen and Gerry to check on them and was now reviewing his speech. He knew it by heart, but reviewed in anyway, making mental notes and small marks in the places where he thought an ad-lib may work. When that was finished, he looked over at the clock. The digital clock read 10:30 PM in bright green. He called the hotel desk and set a 7:45 wake up call, put his speech on the night stand and turned off the tv. After that he flipped the nearby switch which turned off all of the lights. Though he'd rather share the bed with Livvie, he was going to take advantage of the early night.

* * *

It was just after midnight when Olivia stuck the keycard into Fitz's room door. She was able to get an extra one when she told one of the clerks at the front desk that Fitz misplaced his key and she needed another. Olivia heard the small "snick" of the latch being released and slowly pushed the door open and softly closed in behind her. She walked slowly into the room; his room was likely shaped like hers, but she didn't know whether or not she'd trip over any of Fitz's things. She was able to make her way to the bed without issue. Olivia began discarding her clothes—she only had on a pair of leggings and a long sweater with a pair of skippies. She'd already showered and had on a fresh—and skimpy—bra and panty set.

There was a thin stream of moonlight that filtered into the room, which helped Olivia determine Fitz's position in the bed. With only her bra and panties on, Olivia made her way to the unoccupied side of the bed and slowly and carefully pulled back the covers and slid in. Fitz never moved. Luckily for Olivia, Fitz lay on his back with an arm thrown her head. Olivia pulled the covers off of Fitz and took him in. He was naked saved for his boxers.

Olivia was on a mission. She carefully reached for Fitz's boxers and stuck her hand through the hole. She kept an eye on Fitz to make sure he didn't wake. Once Olivia way able to pull out Fitz's semi erect cock, Olivia looked at it and licked her lips. In their two previous encounters, she hadn't had a chance to please Fitz orally, but that was about to be rectified right now. She lay down next to him, with her head level with his cock and slowly took him in her mouth, laving her tongue against the head of his penis. Her mouth continued sucking while her hand jerked his softly.

This went on for a few minutes before Fitz realized that he wasn't dreaming and that his Livvie was really in his bed working wonders with her mouth on his cock. He pushed himself, his upper body weight resting on his elbows and waiting a minute for his eyes to adjust to only the moonlight. There, he saw Olivia with her pouty lips wrapped around his cock and he wanted to cum right then and there.

"Fuck. Livvie. You're so good at this," was all Fitz was able to get out of his mouth as Olivia's other hand began playing with his balls. It was becoming too much for him and he told her so. With two more sucks, Olivia removed her mouth from him and sat up. Fitz flipped on the lamp that rested on the nightstand nearest to him. When he saw the demi cup black bra Olivia wore, his mouth dropped. The bra barely covered her nipples and Fitz was happy for that.

"You look so fucking sexy, Livvie." Fitz couldn't even think about the fact that Livvie was in his hotel room. He didn't care. He just wanted her badly. He would never not want her.

Olivia got off of the bed and stood the floor and gave Fitz a little twirl so that he could get the full effect of her lingerie. Then she slowly peeled the two skimpy pieces of lace off of her body. Fitz wasted no time pulling his boxers off. Naked, Olivia got back on the bed and got on top of Fitz, slowing sinking her body onto his penis. Her body was ready to take him in, and did so without much resistance. Once completely sheathed within her, Liv rode Fitz slowly. It was as if she was dancing on top of him, and using her ballet knowledge to her advantage. Fitz could tell that Olivia had a song in her head that she was moving to, and he promised himself that he'd ask her what it was so that he could listen to it and think of her.

Fitz played with her breasts, squeezing them and reaching up to take a nipple in his mouth. As Olivia sped up her movements, Fitz sat up so that they could be face to face while she continued to ride him. Their lips were locked and his hand flicking her clit as she came, with him not too far behind her. Like the night before, Fitz got a warm clothe from bathroom to clean her up before pulling her close to his body after turning off the light.

"How'd you get a key to the room," he asked after he regained full control of his brain.

"I told the front desk that you'd lost your key and needed another. They didn't even bat an eye," Olivia said, with an obvious smile on her face.

"You're a smart woman, Olivia Pope."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Life has gotten in the way—plus, I spent time writing the Secret Service Agent Musings one shot. Please read and review!**

**Happy 2013 to everyone!**

**PS: Shout out to my buddy babycakebriauna! I threw that "Jesus didn't die for this!" line in just for her!**


	11. Chapter 11

Unlike the previous morning, Fitz woke up with his Livvie still in his arms. Well, not exactly in his arms as she had apparently flung herself over his body sometime during the night. Fitz lay on his back with half of Olivia's body on him, her breasts pressed into his side with one arm and leg tossed over his body. Waking up like this could become a habit that he wouldn't want to kick.

He looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand to his left and saw the digital display read 7:15am. He was glad that he had the thirty minutes before his scheduled wake up call, as he wanted to spend as much time with Olivia—in private—as he could. He began to play with her hair, enjoy the feel of its texture between his fingertips. He did that for a few minutes and then began to gentle rub his hand up and down her back. During one upward motion of his hand, he made sure to glide across the side of her breast.

Olivia thought she was dreaming about the caresses on his skin. But when she felt the hand touch her breast, her eyes began to flutter as if trying to take stock of the situation and determine whether the tingles on her skin were real or an imaginary. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and saw Fitz staring at her, to which she responded with a smile.

"Good morning, sunshine," Fitz greeted with a grin, as he continued his hand movements on the side of her breast. Olivia merely sighed as her eyes fluttered back to a close, and continued to allow her body to enjoy the feelings Fitz was giving her.

"You know," Fitz began, his fingertips now running lightly up and down Olivia's body. He thought he caught a slight movement and stored it away in the back of his brain. One never knew when the knowledge of ticklish spots would come in handy.

"Hmm?" Liv responded, still basking in the glow of his undivided attention.

"We've…we've never spoken about birth control," Fitz said in a rush. Olivia's eyes snapped open. At this, Fitz stopped all of his movements and looked Olivia in her eyes. "We've never spoken about birth control, and we've made love three times without a condom. Are you on anything?"

Olivia took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I'm on the pill. It's funny, I almost stopped renewing my prescription."

"Why," asked Fitz, as he once again ran his fingertips along Olivia's body.

"Because my ex fiancé and I ended our engagement almost a year ago. Scratch that, I ended our engagement almost a year ago. And, I hadn't been with anyone since then, so…"

Fitz looked at Olivia in shock, as if she had two head. "Fiancé?" he questioned.

"Yes, fiancé. But I don't really want to talk about him," said Olivia.

"Do you still love him?" Fitz didn't know what gave him the courage to ask this question but he needed to know.

"No I don't. I liked him a lot…and in some ways we were good together. But, he wasn't for me. We looked good together on paper—which is great—but I don't think we had that necessary spark that keeps a marriage together," Olivia explained in a very matter of fact tone.

"In any case," she continued, "we're fine with the birth control. Don't worry."

Fitz opened his mouth in an attempt to talk, but wisely shut it. Who was he to say that he wouldn't mind worrying? He couldn't, in his right man say that. What would he look like, a married man that's okay with the idea of having a baby with a woman who wasn't his wife? But all of the talk about birth control made him picture a beautiful little girl with their curls, her doe eyes and her pouty mouth, his grin and a caramel complexion. Or a little boy with his eyes and her headstrong personality. He could picture these kids plain as day and he wanted her in his life so badly. But, he couldn't say that out loud, for it wasn't fair to his Livvie.

He sighed and Liv perked up. "What's wrong," she asked, he hand going to his face. She cupped his cheek rubbed her thumb over his lips.

"I wish we could stay in this bed, in this room, all day," he responded.

"I know. But, you know we can't. Even if we didn't have a packed day, Cyrus would come looking for us sooner or later."

Fitz looked over at the alarm clock. It was only 7:25am and he'd asked for a 7:45am wake up call. He had twenty minutes left with Olivia and he was going to take advantage of it. He turned on his side and gently pushed Olivia so that she was laying flat on her back. He situated himself so that he was nestled between her legs and face to face with her. He ground his hips into hers, his cock stiffening at the action. He bent his face down and kissed Olivia softly, his lips caressing hers.

"Oh Fitz," Olivia mumbled into his kiss. She ran her fingers through his curly hair and began to return his kiss for a bit before pulling back. "We don't have enough time."

"Twenty minutes will have to do then, won't it?" once again Fitz wiggled his eyebrows. He kissed Olivia once more, this tongue taking inventory of her mouth. He then pulled away and moved downward to her breasts. He lavished equal attention on each of them; Olivia's breasts were very sensitive and the moans that she released as his tongue flicked her nipples or he lightly bit her sensitive flesh always sounded like music to his ears and gave his cock an extra jolt.

Olivia was thoroughly enjoying the way Fitz worked her body. She'd had enjoyable sex in the past, but it was as if Fitz had a reader's manual to her body, as if he was born knowing was would make her body tick or flinch or shudder. She arched her back and pushed more of her breast into his mouth which Fitz greedily took.

Mindful of the time, or lack thereof, Fitz released one of Olivia's nipples from his mouth with an audible "pop" and moved southward, making sure to kiss his way down Olivia's stomach and dip his tongue into her navel.

Despite anxiously anticipating the feeling of Fitz's tongue tasting her and flicking her clit, she still groaned—loudly—when Fitz's tongue met her center.

"Fitz, you are so damn good at this," she let out, still groaning as she said it.

Emboldened by Olivia's complements, Fitz continued licking her dripping pussy. He had one o her legs over his shoulder and one hand gripped her ass, pulled her toward and keeping her at his mouth. He searched her folds with his tongue and left area untouched. He hardened his tongue and began thrusting inside of her, his tongue imitating his cock. All the while, Olivia had a fistful of his curls in her hand and was tilting her pelvis up and down in time with his thrusts. The moans and groans flowed out of Olivia's mouth over and over again. She started chanting Fitz's name as his began licking her up and down and then circled her clit with his tongue, alternating between flicking it and sucking it in and out of his mouth like a lollipop.

"Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz…I'm coming. Fitz, I'm coming!" And she did. Her orgasm was huge and Fitz lapped up every bit of her essence, wanting to have and taste all of her. Fitz then wrenched her grip from his hair and lay on top of her, chest to chest. Without warning, he slammed his cock into her and started pumping hard and fast but still with finesse and a swivel to his hips. His thrusts were kept her orgasm going, his thrusts continuing to make contact with her sensitive clit. After a one final hard thrust, he came and moaned "Livvie" as he did so. Olivia reached up with both hands to pull Fitz's face down to hers and kissed him deeply. When they broke their kiss, the phone rang. Fitz looked over at the clock which read 7:45am.

"See," Fitz began after having picked up the phone and spoken to the person at the other end, "twenty minutes to the T."

Olivia sighed, still a bit breathless. Who knew so much greatness could be accomplished in twenty minutes?

* * *

The speaking engagement at the local community college went off without a hitch. Fitz was charming and definitely made the crowd laugh at the appropriate times but also got the message of his campaign across. Neither Olivia nor Cyrus had any complaints or critiques, for it seemed like Fitz had finally hit his campaign stride. After this stop, the whole Grant campaign staff boarded the bus to Arkansas, where they were to attend a donor dinner. Once again, Olivia sat which Fitz bear the back of the bus and Cyrus soon joined them. They spoke about that night's donor dinner and all of the potential to secure more funds for Fitz's campaign. They knew that Hollis Doyle, CEO of Doyle Energy would be there to help try and rally up the donors. Fitz wasn't necessarily a fan of Hollis, but Hollis was Big Jerry's guy through and through. Thus, Hollis transposed himself into being Fitz's guy as well.

It was late in the afternoon by the time they reached their hotel. As usual, Fitz, Liv and Cyrus walked into the hotel together. The three of them got a huge shock when they saw Mellie sitting in one of the comfortable lobby couches.

"Fitz! I was wondering what was taking you all so long," Mellie said as soon as she spotted them. She walked over and gave her husband a small peck on the cheek. "Liv. Cy," was Mellie's greeting toward the other two, though she gave each of them a huge.

"Mellie. What are you doing here? I didn't think we'd be seeing you today," Fitz said.

Olivia just stood there and watched the two interact. This was her first time seeing Mellie since she and Fitz had started sleeping together. Now that Mellie was in her presence, Olivia started to have internal doubts about the road that she'd chosen to take.

" Well, since I'll be in Santa Barbara on Super Tuesday, I thought it'd be prudent for me to be here tonight, especially for this big dinner," Mellie explained and Fitz nodded.

"That's good Mellie. Good call. You were always great at this kind of thing. Plus Hollis will be there and I know he'd like to see you," Cyrus said with a smile, already planning out ways to milk Mellie's appearance for all the money he could. Cyrus turned away and went up to the reception desk to get his room key and left the trio where they stood.

Mellie, sensing no awkwardness turned to Olivia. "Liv, I spoke to Karen. She told me that she'd asked you to stay overnight at the ranch next week so that you can be there for her big send off for her first formal."

"Wait, what? What's going on?" Fitz looked back and forth between each woman.

"I meant to tell you about this but it slipped my mind. Karen wants both Cyrus and myself to stay overnight at the ranch. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wants me to meet Jeremy. Plus since I gave her my opinion on her dress choice, she wanted me to be able to see the finished look in person," Olivia explained.

"Honey, that shouldn't be a problem, right? We have the space. By that time, Super Tuesday will have gone in your favor. Liv and Cy need only to deal with starting to vet your VP. They could easily do that from the ranch," Mellie explained. Olivia got a sense of déjà vu for she could have sworn that Karen had given her the same line of reasoning.

"Sure. I mean, if Cyrus and Olivia are fine with it. Why not?" There was no way that Fitz could say no. He didn't want to disappoint Karen and having Liv there was obviously important to her. But the idea of Olivia in his house didn't sit well with him. How was he supposed to handle having her in his family home and not being able to walk in and out of her room as he pleased or even spend the night with her? It would be a sort of torture—and not the sweet kind.

"Excellent. Liv, feel free to let Karen know. I'm sure she'd want to hear the news from you. Fitz, I'm going up to the room, I need to start getting ready for the event tonight." With that, Mellie turned around and made her way, travel suitcase in tow, to the elevator bank. Once she was out of sight and earshot, Fitz turned to Olivia and began to talk to her about this overnight stay.

"Livvie, why didn't you warn me about this?"

"I'm sorry, Fitz. I forgot. I didn't actually think that Mellie would say yes anyway," Olivia explained, her gaze looking past Fitz's face.

Fitz stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. "What's wrong, Liv?"

Olivia looked at him, her doe eyes wide and with a slight quiver in her lips. "I can't do this, Fitz. We have to stop."

Fitz looked at Olivia in shock and incredulity. "What are you talking about? What changed from this morning?"

Olivia chucked. "What changed? What changed is the fact that your wife is here. It was one thing to do this when Mellie wasn't around and I could pretend she wasn't in the picture—out of sight out of mind and all. But her being here today, Fitz, and inviting me to stay in her home…" Olivia trailed off.

"Livvie please don't do this," Fitz pleaded with her. He wanted to grab her hands and pull her toward him into a fierce hug, but given where they were, that was impossible.

"I have go get ready for tonight. I'll see you in a few hours," Olivia said, her voice giving the air of defeat. She pulled her suitcase behind her and walked to over to the reception desk to check in. Fitz just stood there and watched her as she received her room card key and disappeared into the elevator bank.

* * *

Fitz did what Fitz was good at—he used his Grant charm to charm even donations out of the attendees, as the attendees had already paid a hefty table amount to attend the dinner in the first place. Fitz's energy and zeal for his platform was palpable, though, and the financial support came readily. It didn't hurt that Fitz had been performing so well in the polls as of late. Everyone in the room was confident that Super Tuesday was Fitz's to lose. Mellie was her usual Mellie self; but this time, Mellie being Mellie served the campaign well, for she had her own charm that she used to their advantage. She may not have necessarily agreed with every line of Fitz's platform, but if she wanted to be First Lady, she had to sell it. And, now, with Olivia's help, the chances of becoming First Lady had increased tenfold, so Mellie had no problem playing the part.

Fitz went along and played the game and had a relatively decent time. He said his pleasantries to Hollis Doyle, but tried to steer clear of him. The man, despite being good friends with his father, always made him feel somewhat guarded, as if Hollis would possibly be a great asset but also had the potential to be a person's worse enemy. His charming routine only ever faltered when Olivia was in his line of sight. His Livvie, who was stunning in a white tailored tapered pant suit with a red shell camisole underneath and her signature five inch stilettos. She was fully covered but so alluring. She was a sight to behold, and Fitz saw a couple of the men in the room stare too long at the petite woman. He wanted to talk to her, to pull her aside and reason with her but now wasn't the place.

After giving a closing speech, Fitz made the rounds once more to thank the attendees for coming. As the guests filed out and took their leave, Fitz, Mellie, Cyrus and Olivia had a mini meeting and discussed all that occurred that night. Cyrus and Mellie reveled over their fundraising success while Olivia was fairly silent and just listening to the trio talk. After some more discussion, Cyrus said that he was tired and wanted to head off to bed. Mellie also wanted to get some sleep since she had a very early flight back to Santa Barbara in the morning. Fitz and Olivia were left alone in the almost empty dining hall.

"Livvie, you look so beautiful," Fitz began, his hands balled up into fists at his side. They were balled up so that he wouldn't reach out to touch her.

"Fitz…please don't," Olivia was close to not being able to take it. Though she was better able to hide her feelings for Fitz, Olivia couldn't help but find Fitz in the room throughout the night. The man knew how to fill out a tux and Olivia felt her arousal surge whenever she looked at him.

"I can't not try, Olivia. Please don't do this. Not now. We've just started. You're already so important to me. Please…" He pleaded with her. Fitz looked around and noticed that the last attendees were gone and the cleaning crew had yet to converge in the room to start clearing everything away. So he grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth and kissed it.

Olivia's resolve broke. She didn't want to stop, she couldn't. Olivia hadn't gotten enough of Fitz and who knew if she ever would.

"Ok."

"Ok?" Fitz wanted to make sure that he and Olivia were on the same page, that they were in this together.

"Yes, ok." Olivia gave a slight nod. At this, Fitz smiled, a smile that light up his eyes from within. She could tell that he wanted to say something about their sleeping arrangements, but she didn't even let him begin. "Let's just call it a night, Fitz. It's been a long day. And, tomorrow is Super Tuesday, so we have to get an early start. I'll see you in the morning."

Fitz nodded. He was upset about their sleeping arrangements; he didn't want to have to sleep without her. But tonight wasn't the night to push even more boundaries. "Goodnight, Livvie."

"Goodnight, Fitz," said Olivia as she began making her way out of the auditorium. She wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone tonight.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! So, originally I hadn't planned on having any sex in this chapter. However, I was inspired by 2.11's "20 Minutes" so I had to put it in here. Hope you all enjoyed the update. We're nearing the finish line for this story! Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Cyrus paced around the campaign war room back and forth to the point where Olivia, despite sitting on a couch, thought she'd become dizzy and fall, which she told him. Cyrus merely glared at her in response and continued his pacing.

"This coming from the woman who paces constantly? That's rich!" huffed Cyrus .

Olivia had to admit the older man had a point. Even still...

"Cyrus. There's nothing you can do now, pacing won't give you the answers to the universe. We've done all we can do. Now it's up to the people.

Cyrus huffed again. "The '_people' _are idiots and rarely know what's good for them, especially when it comes to politics."

To that, Olivia had no disagreement.

The day was Super Tuesday, the day the entire Grant campaign had been waiting for, the day that Olivia Pope had been bright in to give the campaign a shot at winning. Today was the day that would determine whether all of her eating, breathing and living Fitzgerald Grant every minute of every day had paid off. Already, at a bit after 3 p.m., things were looking good. More than good, actually. The preliminary returns that trickled in over the hours gave the edge to Fitz in the vast majority of states. If the trend stayed the same Super Tuesday would be his.

At that moment she wondered where Fitz was hiding. He'd been MIA for the past hour. When Fitz told then that he was going to take a walk, she didn't think he'd be gone that long, particularly since he didn't really know his way around the area. Olivia was about to call out to one of the campaign volunteers to go look or Fitz when he strolled in.

"Fitz, where the hell were you?" Cyrus called out, still pacing.

"I told you I was going to take a walk. Both of you," he began, looking back and forth between Cyrus and Olivia, "were driving me nuts with your pacing and nerves, and I was already nervous enough." Fitz sat on the couch next to Olivia closer than necessary, but Cyrus didn't notice.

"You're going to win," Olivia told him with a smile.

"I know. And it's all thanks to the campaign fixer I tried to fire." If Cyrus weren't there, Fitz would have grabbed Olivia's hand and kissed it. As if Olivia could sense his desire, she just looked at him and put so much in her eyes that Fitz was momentarily breathless.

The trio stayed together for the rest of the day and evening. By evening's end, Governor Fitzgerald Thomas Grant, III of California had been declared the overwhelming winner of Super Tuesday and the presumptive republican nominee for president.

* * *

Hours after the excitement of Super Tuesday wore off, Olivia and Fitz found time to be together. Fitz came to her hotel room and it didn't take much time before they started ripping their clothes off in a hurried pace before they jumped on each other. They made love twice, hard and fast then soft and slow. For Olivia, it was a life affirming experience. She always put her all into her love making with Fitz, but this time it felt different. It was as if she knew their time would soon draw to a close, so she had to make every second count, as if it would be there last.

Olivia lay back, naked, against the bed's headboard, with two fluffy pillows behind her which served to have her in a semi-reclined position. Fitz, also naked, lay next to her, his head on her chest and an arm wrapped possessively around her waist and stomach. Occasionally, he'd kiss her breast or flick her nipple with his tongue. To Olivia, this was bliss. Yet, as the more pragmatic of the pair, she felt she had to be the one to put a damper on things.

"You know you are the presumptive republican nominee now, right? With this win today, you're a lock. You understand this, Fitz?" Olivia questioned him as she ran a hand through his curls.

"Of course I understand, Livvie. This is what we've been working for…" Fitz said, as he started to caress Olivia's stomach. When his fingers softly grazed her lower stomach, she flinched, as that was one of her ticklish spots—and Fitz knew it. She quickly moved Fitz's hand to rest higher on her stomach so he wouldn't continue and she could keep her thoughts together.

"Once you are the nominee, though, you'll be assigned your own Secret Service Agents, Fitz. We won't be able to…maybe we need to stop now. Stop before it gets even harder than it already is?" Olivia stated and just waited for Fitz's reaction.

Fitz merely sighed. "Olivia, today has been such a great day. Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes, we do have to talk about this! What's going to happen when agents are following your every move and step? You will be the republican nominee for President of the United States of America. How will it look if you are going into one of your campaign manager's room at all times of the night and day?"

"It will look like me and my campaign manager have things to discuss about my campaign!" Fitz huffed out. He didn't want to talk or think about this.

"Fitz, you can't be that naïve. How do you know you will be able to trust whoever is assigned to you? We have to think about this, Fitz!" Olivia pushed Fitz off of her and jumped out of the bed. Fitz only starred at Olivia's naked body as the seemingly irate woman moved swiftly across the room to her suitcase. Bending down—another sight Fitz enjoyed—Olivia grabbed a large "Grant For The People" shirt and pulled it over her head. Her nakedness covered, she began to pace in circles.

"You have to think about your campaign," Olivia continued, still pacing. "And, I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the cause of you losing."

Once again, Fitz sighed. He got out of the bed and grabbed his discarded pair of black boxer briefs and shoved his legs into them. Feeling sufficiently covered, Fitz sat back down onto the bed and patted the space next to him.

"Livvie, come sit. I promise no funny business. We need to talk, and I'd rather do it with you sitting by me than watching you pace in circles."

Olivia waited a beat as she looked at Fitz with suspicious eyes. She knew for a fact that Fitz always had a hard time keeping his hands to himself when it came to her. Hell, it was hard for him to do it in public. Many times Olivia had caught Fitz almost reaching to touch her in front of the campaign staff and Cyrus. There are times when they would stand in front of a dry erase board going over figures and out of the corner of her eye she'd see his hand extend toward her body. In never failed; at the last minute, Fitz would pull his hand back and either it in his pocket or run it through his hair in an effort to not touch her.

Despite past precedent, Olivia decided to just go with it this time; if he did touch her, they were behind closed doors. She walked over and sat on the bed next to him, but not too close. Fitz, figuring it's be best not to press his luck, turned to her and starred for a few moments before speaking.

"What's this really about, Liv?" Fitz asked her, his voice gentle.

Olivia, in a moment of rare vulnerability, decided to be honest. "We have to stop before I get further caught up in you than I already am. Where can this go, Fitz? We should stop now…stop now before the stakes get even higher once you have constant secret service presence. Stop before the media is further scrutinizing your every move. Stop….before I become more attached to you than I already am and can't imagine my day without being with you." Those last words left Olivia's mouth in a hushed whisper that Fitz had to lean forward to hear.

"Livvie," began Fitz as his slid near Liv and put his arm around her shoulders. Once he pulled her to him and her head lay on his shoulder, he resumed talking. "Livvie. I love you, ok? I want you to be with me. I know the situation isn't ideal," Fitz was interrupted by Olivia's scoff, but still he pressed forward. "I know this isn't ideal, but I've at least thought about what will happen if I get into the White House.

"You mean _when_ you get into the White House," Olivia corrected him.

"Ok, when. I will appoint you to be my Director of Communications." Fitz said this in a very matter of fact way, as if there was no possibility that this appointment would meet friction.

Olivia cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Director of Communications? Who says I want to be the Director of Communications?"

Fitz grinned and grabbed one of Olivia's hands that were resting on her thigh. He gave her knuckles a quick kiss and placed it back on her thigh before she could open her mouth about him having broken his promise about keeping his hands to himself.

"Why wouldn't you want to be my Director of Communications? Olivia, it's a wonderful opportunity. You have a way with words, you've been in the lead writer of all of my speeches. And I'd trust you, implicitly, to deliver any statement on my behalf and on the behalf of my administration regarding any political scandal or crisis that affects this country. This would be perfect." Olivia opened her mouth to talk, but Fitz stopped her, immediately knowing what she was going to say. "You earned this, Olivia. I would have wanted you as my Director of Communications even if," Fitz moved his hand back and forth between the two of them, "this hadn't happened. You're a formidable force, Olivia Carolyn Pope, I always want you on my side."

Olivia smiled at his compliment. "Yes, you're right, it would be an incredible opportunity. I'll think about it, ok?"

Fitz wanted to ask Olivia what exactly was there to think about. But, he stopped himself. He did understand that there _was_ a lot to think about for Olivia. He was asking a lot of her. He wanted to keep her with him, in the White House and near him at all times. Yet, he knew it was a big decision for her. Deciding to live a life of secrecy for four years—at minimum—was a big decision and one that shouldn't be rushed.

"Ok. Take as much time as you need. I won't push you, ok?"

"Ok. Let's go to sleep. I don't want to oversleep and miss my flight," Olivia said as she got on her hands and knees and crawled to her side of the bed. Fitz only starred at the sight of his Livvie's ass in the air. It was a sight that he'd never get tired off. He was so tempted to reach over and caress her generous backside. Olivia seemed to be able to read his mind, for she turned her head to him and shook her head no. "No, Fitz, let's not even start that right now, ok?" She got under the covers and patted the empty space next to her, beckoning Fitz to join her.

Fitz sighed, his course of action thwarted. He got up and got under the covers and then reached over to the night stand to flip the light switch. Once the room was cloaked in darkness, Fitz settled onto his back. Olivia immediately moved near him and wrapped her body around his. It took almost no time for Olivia to fall asleep once she nestled her head into the crook of Fitz's neck.

* * *

Olivia felt weird about being back in her DC apartment. She'd been gone for so long that she had to regain her bearings. Her friend Abby, of course, was there to great her, as she'd been staying with Olivia for a while. Though Olivia loved her friend, she had to admit that a big bonus of having Abby staying with her was that she always had good snacks available at her disposal.

"So Liv…fill me in on everything!" Abby demanded as she sat across from Olivia. Both women were snacking on some fresh chocolate cupcakes Abby made as a welcome home gift to Liv.

"There's nothing to tell, Abby. We blew Langston out of the water yesterday, and with the states we picked up over the course of the campaign, Fitz is assuredly the presumptive in one for the Republican Party," Olivia said and then chuckled at Abby's shudder upon hearing the word 'republican.'

"Liv, did you have to campaign for a _republican_, though? I mean...come on Liv! You're black...you're a woman. They don't like you!" Abby huffed before taking a big bite out of the cupcake, a bit of frosting sticking to her top lip before she licked it off.

"Oh Abby. You know I'm apolitical. It's about the candidate, not party. Now, I admit that, for the reasons you so _eloquently_ stated," began Olivia, the sarcasm very evident on her voice as evidence by Abby's grin, "I have not been the biggest fan of the Republican Party in its present incarnation. That said, Governor Grant is very liberal in many of his beliefs. You've seen how they painted him during the primary- as a RINO. Honestly, I really do think the major of his ideals align greater sight eh Democratic Party. The general election is going to be tough, and even tougher without the right vice presidential nominee to sure up the republican base."

Abby observed her for a few moments before speaking once more. "You think he's a good guy, Liv?"

"I really do. I think he's what this country needs," Olivia answered her with confidence she truly felt.

"Ok Liv, I trust you. Besides, that Reston guy seems like a nut. I'm not sure about him," was Abby's response.

The pair spoke a bit about Liv's next steps with the campaign and her weekend trip to Santa Barbara. When Abby mentioned trying to find her own place to get out of Liv's proverbial hair, Olivia wouldn't hear it. She told her friend that she was welcomed to stay for however long she needed and that, at the very least, Abby could keep watch over her apartment once she went back on the campaign trail.

Hours later, Olivia lay restless in her bed. It was already 2:17 a.m. and, at most, she'd gotten a total of one hour of sleep. She tossed and turned and tossed some more until the point of slapping her hand against the many pillows on her bed in frustration.

What was keeping her awake was the fact that she missed Fitz. It wasn't so much that she missed him in her bed-which she did-but mainly, she missed him being in her general vicinity. This was the first time in months that she couldn't just walk to his room and knock on his door or plan to meet in a hotel lounge for a another sharing hour/strategy session. If this was how she felt after being away from him for less than twenty four hours, what was going to happen to her if-when Fitz made it into the White House? She wasn't too sure becoming his Director of Communications was a good one. Could she handle being there with him, day in and day out, without being able to have the private moments that had become so important to her over the last couple of weeks?

Olivia was going over all of this in her mind when the phone rang. She wondered who could be calling her so late, and would have let the phone ring and go to voicemail if she weren't concerned about waking up Abby.

"What?" asked the person on the phone by way of a greeting.

"Well, hello to you too, Livvie."

"Fitz!" Olivia exclaimed softly. "What are you doing? You can't call me."

"I believe I just did call you. What's the problem?" Fitz asked and Olivia could swear that she heard him smiling over the phone.

"What's the problem? The problem is who knows who's paying attention now. How would it look if your phone records were leaked and people questioned you calling me at after 2 a.m.?" Olivia demanded, meaning it, but still very happy to have Fitz on the phone with her.

"Livvie, really? Just stop and enjoy the moment. I miss you, I just wanted to hear your voice for a few minutes. Is that a crime? Is that ok with you?" Fitz asked with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Olivia gave a small sigh. "Of course it's ok with me, Fitz. I just worry that you aren't taking this seriously. All of this, you and I, it could blow up in your face and derail your chances of becoming President. Langston wasn't as bad as Reston will be," explained Olivia, mentioning the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

"Liv, you're more worried about everything than I am. Don't worry, things will be fine. Ok?"

"Ok," Olivia responded, this time with a smile of her own on her face.

"I miss you, Livvie. Don't you miss me too?"

Olivia laughed. "Do you know what you sound like? You sound like one of those "do you like me? Pick one: yes, no or maybe" notes I used to get elementary school.

"Well, which one is it, Olivia? Yes, no or maybe," Fitz asked after his own laughter subsided.

"Maybe," Olivia answered slyly so that Fitz knew that the answer was really a yes.

It was silent for the next few moments, with each of them basking in the company of the other, despite being on the phone and separated by thousands of miles and circumstance.

"Are you ready for your trip west? Karen keeps talking about you nonstop. She's really happy you decided to come."

"I am. I'm flattered that she wants me to be a part of her first school dance experience," Olivia said and then paused. "Fitz?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Don't you think it'll be...slightly uncomfortable having me in your home? You can't pull stunts like you did at the prayer meeting at your home with Mellie there." Olivia didn't want to bring the tone of their conversation down once more, but she had to express her concerns. Since they'd made love the first time, Fitz became a bit sloppy in hiding his affection for her. She'd caught him starring a few times, caught him trying to touch her. He'd lean into her unnecessarily and exhale a whiff of her perfume or shampoo. They were lucky no one had caught on yet, but things would be very different with an observant Mellie around.

"Once again, Liv, things will be fine. I promise," Fitz assured her once more.

They spoke for a few minutes more about the next steps of the campaign. Olivia gave Fitz the names of some potential vice presidential picks and told him to think about what he knew of their character and temperament in an effort to pare down the potential choices. She and Cyrus had already started the vetting process in the event that Fitz won the nomination. After discussing the campaign, Fitz told Olivia that a car and driver would be waiting for her and Cyrus at the airport to pick them up and bring them to the ranch. Not long after they bid each other good night and sweet dreams. The call was just was Olivia needed; not even five minutes after ending her call with Fitz she was fast asleep.

* * *

At about 12:15 pm on a Friday afternoon, Olivia and Cyrus made their way through Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, their carry on suitcases pulled behind them. Olivia chuckled to herself; if her suitcase had a mile meter, she's sure it would be in the thousands given all the traveling it had been doing two steps behind her. Now, instead of using the last bit of completely free time that she had before buckling down for the general election, she was here in California just to help a young woman prepare for her first major school dance.

Both of them made their way out of the airport and began to look for the car Fitz told them would be waiting to being them to the Ranch. Initially, Olivia planned on renting a car for her short stay, but Fitz pushed her to just allow him to set up a ride so that they wouldn't have to depend on not always unreliable gps. Neither of them expected to see Fitz waiting for them, behind the wheel of a shiny navy blue Range Rover, right outside of the main exit.

The trio made their way to the ranch; Fitz pointed out some sights to Olivia and Cyrus as he drove, in between talks about his vice presidential pick. Fitz used the conversation to distract him from the fact that he wanted to reach across the armrest, grab Olivia's hand and being it to his mouth for a kiss. But that wouldn't do with Cyrus in the backseat. Fitz continued driving for about a half an hour before they made their way to very secluded Grant Ranch. As they made their way up the drive and around the property to the main residence, Fitz pointed out the stable that housed five horses, a tennis court, the outdoor pool (but because it was colder, Fitz reminded them of the smaller indoor pool that was maintained for year round use), the pool house and some other amenities of the property. Even though Cyrus and Olivia were only going to be there for the weekend, Fitz I wanted them to feel at home and relax or have as much fun as they could; once campaigning started, there wouldn't be too many opportunities for them to take time of solely for relaxation or truly fun activities. As they made their way to the main residence, Fitz pointed out the guest house on the property. Olivia was surprised when they just continued driving past it, figuring that she and Cyrus would stay there. When she brought this up, Fitz explained that the main residence was big enough to house everyone more than comfortably and that the guest residence was mainly used by his in-laws (whom he didn't particularly care for). Once Olivia saw the main residence—a sprawling mansion—she realized that Fitz was right and that the residence would fit all of them…and likely the starting lineup of a basketball team too.

"Here we are," said Fitz as he pulled the car into a five car garage. They all made their way out of the career, luggage in tow, and into the home. The garage connected to a well sized mud room, which then connected to a grand chef's style kitchen, with the latest and greatest appliances and amenities. The kitchen has a country feel to it, with lots of white and intricate wood work.

Fitz showed Cyrus and Olivia around the estate. He took them to the main common areas and then took them upstairs to the east wing of the home were the pair would be staying for the weekend. Fitz pointed out Olivia's room and then took Cyrus to his room, which was about a small hallway in length away from Olivia's room. Both of their rooms could have been mistaken for duel masters, that's how big they were and both had en suite bathrooms for their convenience and privacy. Olivia looked around the room, painted a pretty sage green, and gazed at the queen sized bed. She put her suitcase on the bed and then made her way into the bathroom. The bathroom was spacious and had a shower separate from the whirl pool bathtub. She was looking at the pool and didn't see Fitz's reflection in the mirror. She didn't realize he was there until she felt his arms around her waist pulling her to him so that her back pressed against his front. She reveled in the felt of being wrapped in his arms—something that she'd missed dearly over the last couple of days—until she remembered where she was. Just as quickly she pulled his arms off of her and stepped out of his embrace.

"Fitz," she said in a low voice, "we can't do this. The door to my room is open. Cyrus could walk by. What's wrong with you?!"

Fitz didn't let Olivia's words discourage him, however, and stepped right back into her personal space. Olivia kept taking stepped away from Fitz until she bumped into the marble counter that held the vessel sink. All the while, Fitz continued to move forward until he was standing in front of Olivia. He placed his hands on either side of her body, effectively trapping her where she stood. He looked her in the eye and smiled, and after a few seconds she smiled too.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said in response. She was still smiling at him and gazing into his gray-blue eyes. The feelings of _needing_ to kiss him over took her good sense; she leaned forward and stretched her body to meet face, her lips softly touching his. Fitz was surprised that Olivia kissed him first instead of in response to him kissing her, given the space that they occupied, but he wasn't complaining. It wasn't long before he added pressure to the kiss and deepened it, flicking his tongue against her lips begging for entry. Olivia obliged, and soon their tongues were intertwined and tasting each other and their hands roam each other's body. Olivia's hand played in Fitz's curly locks while one of Fitz's hand's cupped her ass and pulled her body closer to his so that he could grind his burgeoning erection into her body.

Yet, despite his willingness to take chances, even Fitz knew that they were in a precarious position, one with Cyrus likely to come looking for them any second. With regret, he ended the kiss with a light smack and put his lips next to her ear. After one flick of his tongue on the outer shell of Olivia's ear, he said "I missed you. So, so much," and stepped away from her.

Olivia was able to give him another small smile despite trying to get her breathing back in check. She ran a nervous hand through her lose waves and dropped her arm back to her side.

"So, where are the kids and Mellie?" Olivia asked, as a way to keep Fitz's mind from wandering to inappropriate places at this inopportune time.

Fitz looked at his watch. "Well, Jerry doesn't have any extracurricular activities this afternoon, so he should be home in a couple of hours. Karen is going to get her hair styled directly after school with a friend of hers and then she'll be home to finish getting ready. I'm sure Karen will want your help with the rest of it. Mellie went to have lunch with some well-connected friends of hers to both gloat about my Super Tuesday win and to see if she could garner support from them, as they are either high powered themselves or married someone who was high powered," Fitz explained all of this as he walked into the main part of the bedroom with Olivia behind him. He stood there watching her and she began to take clothes out of her suitcase and hang them up in the spacious closet. While Olivia had her back turned to him, he peaked inside the suitcase and saw some bunched up deep purple material. Not ashamed of his nosiness, he stuck his hand in the suitcase and pulled out the bottom of a seemingly very small pair of bikini bottoms. He held them up with both hands and just stared at the bottoms and pictured his Livvie in them…and him taking them off of her.

Olivia turned around and was about to ask Fitz why he'd gotten so silent when she saw what was in his hands. She marched over and snatched them from him with a smile on her face. She put the bottoms back into the suitcase and took the suitcase to the closet. Fitz finally got his active imagination under control and was about to speak when Olivia sidled up to him again.

"You told me you had an indoor pool, so I figured that I should bring a bathing suit just in case I decided to go for a swim. You know that besides from being a ballerina, swimming was my sport. I have the trophies to prove it," finished Olivia with confidence.

"Will I be invited to witness this display of athletic prowess?" Fitz asked as he reached up to gently place some stray hairs obscuring part of Olivia's face from his view behind her hair.

"Maybe if you're lucky, Governor Grant," was Olivia's coy response.

Seconds later they heard Cyrus's steps coming down the hall. They put an appropriate amount of physical distance between then and acted as if they were in the midst of a campaign related discussion when Cyrus walked into Olivia's room. The trip made their way down the kitchen where one of the staff members had already prepared a simple lunch for them.

Afterward they delved into more campaign matters, particularly dealing with the issue of picking a running mate and continuing mapping a strategy of attack—a relatively clean one—against presumptive democratic nominee Reston. They didn't realize how much time had passed (in was now 3:25pm) until they heard voices calling for Fitz.

"Dad? You home?" yelled Jerry. The smallest Grant ran through the house looking for his dad and finally found him and their guests in the kitchen, sitting at a round table with a bunch of files and papers strewn about.

When he saw Olivia sitting there, Jerry's face broke out into a huge grin. "Olivia!" he exclaimed as he hurled himself into her body. Olivia thought to herself that she was lucky that she'd been sitting down, because the 9 year old would have surely knocked her over had she been standing. She looked down into his smiling face and gave him a big hug.

"Hey Jerry! How was school today?" Olivia asked the young boy once he looked at her again—he'd just given his "Uncle Cy" a big hug as well.

"It was fine. We started learning about long division today," he answered.

"Really? What do you think about it?"

"Well…it's ok so far. I definitely need lots of practice, though! Dad or Karen usually helps me with my math homework since that's my toughest subject." Jerry looked at Fitz expectantly.

"No problem buddy. We can get to it tonight. Make sure you do the rest of your homework first so that all we have to worry about is your math, ok?"

Jerry walked over to Fitz and gave him a low five. "Got it dad. Can you fix me a snack? I want ants on a log and apple slices with caramel please!"

With that Fitz began preparing Jerry's after school snack while Jerry kept Olivia and Cyrus entertained with stories from school. He was in the midst of telling them about how his class's pet spider somehow escaped its tank and that he was the only one brave enough to pick it up to put it back in its glass tank. Fitz called Jerry over to the counter, where his food sat, and reminded him to start his homework as soon as he was finished eating.

The next couple of hours went by fairly quickly. Fitz took some time to get some personal affairs in order, things that he'd neglected while he was campaigning. Olivia and Cyrus continued to strategize and determine when they should start actively campaigning _against_ Reston. They were holed up in Fitz's office while Jerry was content to take over their space at the kitchen table to tackle his homework. He found the other subjects to be fairly easy and it wasn't too long before he was calling his dad to help him with his long division.

It was about a quarter to 5 when another set of voices called out.

"Fitz! Are you home?" was heard with a simultaneous "Dad! I'm back! Are you here?" Mellie and Karen walked through the home and found Fitz helping Jerry with his last math problem. Fitz looked over to Karen and Mellie. Even though he always felt his "little" girl was beautiful, she was glowing now—despite the fact that her hair wasn't in its final form. She walked over to her dad and gave him a peck on the cheek while Mellie gave a verbal greeting to both he and Jerry and made her way to the fridge to get something to drink.

"Karen, why is your hair still in pins?" Fitz asked the teenager as she dropped her backpack on the table and grabbed Jerry's glass of water to drink.

"Because I don't want all of the curls to fall out before the dance, dad!" Karen said in a voice that sounded like one of those "don't you know anything, dad?" voices, full of exasperation.

Fitz held his hands out in surrender. "Ok ok, my apologies! Anyway, you'll be happy to know that Olivia is in my office with Cyrus. She-" before Fitz could finish his sentence, Karen ran out of the kitchen in search of Olivia.

Fitz turned his attention to Mellie, who still standing by the fridge and drinking a glass of water.

"I thought Amaya was going to drop Karen off since they both went to get their hair styled together?" Fitz asked as he sat down next to Jerry to continue the last problem in his math set.

"Things ended earlier than usual with the ladies. I wasn't too far from her, so I just figured I'd go pick her up. No big deal, Fitz," Mellie explained as she pushed an invisible strand of hair out of her face. Fitz merely looked at her skeptically.

"Ok Mellie. I'm sure Karen enjoyed your surprising her all the same."

"She did, actually. You'd have thought she'd seen a ghost," Mellie merely shrugged at that, not fully comprehending while Karen would react that way. Fitz just gave a non-committal "humpf" and turned his attention back to Jerry. Mellie, after announcing that she was going to talk to Olivia and Cyrus, left the room.

* * *

"Do you think Jeremy will like my dress, Liv?" Karen asked. Karen was sitting in front of a small vanity that was in the far corner of her room. She never really used it – it was more her mother's idea to have one. Karen was very low maintenance, tending to use one swipe of mascara (often the clear kind) and tinted lip balm. But tonight was special. Tonight was her first dance and she was going all out. Her hair was loose from its pins and tumbled around her in soft curls. She had pretty lilac eye shadow on, and Olivia had done it so that she had a very subtle smoky eye effect. She had a bit of blush on, some highlighter and capped it off with a pale pink lipstick. As she sat at the vanity and looked at herself, she found it hard to believe that the girl whose reflection she saw was actually hers. She looked age appropriate and mature all at the same time.

"Of course he will, Karen," Olivia reassured her. "How could he not love it? You look beautiful. You always look beautiful Karen, but tonight you are glowing. Plus, if Jeremy doesn't like it, means he's an idiot and you are better off without him!" Olivia exclaimed and gave her a slight poke on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much for coming, Liv. I really appreciate you taking the time to see me off to my first dance! Even though I've only known you a short time, I feel like you've been around all my life. So, thank you."

Olivia, careful not to squash her curls or transfer makeup, gave the teenager a tight hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "It's not a problem at all, Karen. No need to thank me. Honestly, you gave me the perfect excuse to check out you guys' "fly" digs!" Olivia joked and Karen chuckled in response. The two women packed the essentials in Karen's clutch: lipstick so that she could touch up if need be, breath mints, her iPhone, and some emergency funds in the form of a couple of bills and a credit card. Karen was in the middle of reiterating her plans for the night, and Olivia giving her a mini speech about not doing anything that she was uncomfortable with, when Jerry knocked on the door. The little boy stuck his head in and let them know that Jeremy was down stairs.

Fitz was in the middle of subtly grilling "this Jeremy character". He wasn't all that comfortable with his soon to be 15 year old baby girl going out to a school dance. Even after agreeing, Fitz wasn't shy about expressing his concerns to Karen. The teenager reminded her father that she had a good head on her shoulders, she never got in trouble and that she'd be home by 11, way before all of the other kids had to go home. Plus, she pointed out that this would be one of her last "hoorahs" before she was constantly surrounded by secret service agents over an eight year span, so she wanted to take advantage of it. Karen's subtle vote of confidence that he _would_ be president for the next 8 years only made him laugh, Karen smile slyly, and Fitz give his final approval after setting a couple of ground rules.

Fitz eyed Jeremy up and down. The kid didn't look bad. To be honest, he looked like a slightly cooler version of Harry Potter – without the glasses and the lightning bolt shaped scar. Fitz and Mellie had already asked him what he had planned tonight and the date – though Fitz was loathe to truly think of his baby girl on a date – sounded like it'd be fine.

Just then, Karen made her way into the main entrance and all eyes were on her. Fitz couldn't believe that his baby girl could look even more beautiful, but she did. Even the usually stoic Mellie gasped and quickly wiped away a tear that threated to fall from her eye. Jeremy merely stared at his date with a goofy grin on his face.

Jerry, who couldn't understand why everyone had gone all quiet and looked close to weeping, broke the mood a well-placed "You actually look pretty, Karen. Wow…miracles do exist!"

"Beat it, Jerry!" Karen snipped back at her little brother. Ugh, how embarrassing.

"I'm playing, I'm playing. You look good!" Jerry walked over and gave his sister a hug, which she affectionately returned.

Jeremy walked over to Karen and gave her a bouquet of pink and white roses. "You look beautiful, Karen. But then again, you always do," Jeremy said, shyly.

"Thank you Jeremy. You look very handsome tonight," Karen said and the two teens grinned at each other.

"You two make such a handsome couple. Let me take a couple of pictures," Mellie said, holding up a professional looking Nikon camera.

Jeremy led Karen to the bottom of the staircase and put his hand around her waist—loosely, because he was still very aware that he was under his date's father's watchful gaze. Karen held the rose with both hands and smiled for the camera. Flash after flash, Mellie took photos of the two of them from different angles. Then Mellie handed the camera to Fitz so that she could take a picture with Karen.

Fitz had to admit that seeing Mellie and Karen together made for a striking image. His baby girl had the best of both of her parents' features and the two looked great together. Fitz then told Jerry to get into the picture with Mellie and Karen so that he could take a picture of the three of them.

"Liv, do you mind taking a picture of the four of us?" Mellie asked.

"No problem, Mellie." Olivia ignored the slight twinge that went through her body and stomach as she took a few photos of the "happy" family. She could admit to herself that, as she viewed them throw the digital camera's viewing screen, they looked like the happy family the two parents portrayed them to be. Even now, no animosity showed. She could see her teaching at work as Fitz put his arm around Mellie without flinching.

"Got them," said Olivia, handing the camera back to Mellie.

"Liv, take a picture with me before I go!" Karen said and she motioned for Olivia to join her. Olivia did so happily and posed prettily with Karen.

"I want to take a picture with Liv too!" said Jerry, running over to join his sister and Olivia. Mellie obliged and took a couple of shots with the trio, some serious and lovely with others being goofy and of them making silly faces.

Fitz watched the action going on in front of him and hurriedly whipped out his phone to get a couple of shots for himself. As he watched Olivia hugging his children, he couldn't help but wish that _this_ was his normal. That the four of them were a family.

* * *

The last time Olivia looked at her watch it read 1:47 am. But, that was about twenty minutes ago before she'd taken it off, Olivia estimated as she floated in the indoor pool. The pool area was glorious, with the huge sliding glass doors giving the pool and indoor/outdoor feel. She had the lights dimmed low—it was light enough for her to see and not stub her toe, but dark enough so that she got to enjoy the moonlight shining through the glass doors. There was a water slide, like the kind you'd see at an island resort off to one side, and it looked like it was enclosed by a pseudo mountain. Olivia assumed that was there for the kids' enjoyment. The pool, being a few floors down from the bedrooms, was somewhat cut off from the rest of the house, so much so that Olivia took notice of an intercom system wired to the pool area.

She began an easy backstroke and took her time. When she reached the opposite end of the pool and looked up, she saw Fitz standing there, in swim drunks, smiling bemusedly at her. But, she didn't recognize him at first and she almost started sinking.

"Fitz! Don't do that! You can't sneak up on a person when they are swimming."

"Sorry, Livvie. You seemed to be enjoying the tranquility of the swim, so I didn't want to disturb you."

"Sure Fitz, whatever you say," was Olivia's response. She remained floating and looked at Fitz. "Did Karen get back yet? Your house is so big; I'd been in my room for a couple of hours before coming to swim and I hadn't heard her or any movement."

"She's back. She called and asked if she could stay out a half an hour later and I let her. She came in with a look of pure joy on her face and said that she had so much fun. Jeremy has already asked me if it's ok if he comes to the house to study with Karen sometimes. I just couldn't say no…he doesn't seem like a bad kid."

"That's great, Fitz. I'm sure Karen will be happy."

"I'm sure she will," said Fitz right before he dived into the pool's heated waters. Instead of surfacing after his dive, he swam underwater toward Olivia. Olivia, figuring that he might try to pull her under, laughed and started swimming away. Despite her trophy winning swimming skills, the fact that Fitz had a foot on her led to him catching her quickly. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her flush against him. He held her for a few moments before letting her go so that they could both come up for air. Olivia gave Fitz's lips a quick peck and swam for the steps near the slide. Her journey was two-fold: she wanted to go down the slide and she wanted to give Fitz a nice full view of her bathing suit.

Fitz started swimming after Olivia and then stopped and watched as Olivia stepped up the ladder nearest to the slide. When Olivia stepped onto the hard colored concrete surface surrounding the pool, she turned around and stared coyly at Fitz, whose mouth hung open. He was in awe. The small scrap of deep purple material he'd found in her suitcase still looked small on Olivia, but enticingly so. The small front triangle of the bikini bottom was _just_ wide enough so as not to give Fitz a free show. The sides were cinched near her bikini area but spread out as it when to connect to the material that covered her shapely and pert ass. The bikini top was bandeau style, cinched in the middle, with the material seemingly widening enough to cover her nipples, though Fitz realized that up close he'd likely see that more of her breasts were covered than it appeared.

When Olivia saw that Fitz was sufficiently entranced, she made her way to the slide and minutes later, she slid her way into the pool—right into Fitz's waiting arms. After he caught her, he quickly brought his face to hers and hungrily slanted his lips over hers, consuming her via their kiss. Olivia quickly wrapped her arms and legs around him and deepened the kiss even further, their tongues dueling for control. Since they were in an area where the pool's bottom started to incline, Fitz was able to walk them over to the side of the pool. Once there, he pressed Olivia up against the pool's edge for greater leverage—one hand covered her ass and the other held her neck to keep her lips pressed against his.

Olivia wrenched her lips away from his to take a deep breathe, her chest heaving and, in turn, pushing more into Fitz's chest. Fitz brought the hand that covered her neck to the swim cap that covered her hair and pulled it off, her hair tumbling out of its confines onto her wet shoulders. He wasted no time entwining his damp hands into her hair. He pulled her hair firmly so her head was pulled back and her neck exposed, and planted his lips onto her neck, sucking firmly and gently but not hard enough to leave a mark. Low and throaty moans escaped Olivia's mouth as she let the feelings Fitz brought to her body wash over her.

Moving back to her lips, Fitz kissed her with all he had. He removed his hand from her now damn hair and planted it on the pool's concrete edge. His hand that was on Olivia's ass moved to the front of her bikini bottoms. He smoothly inserted his hand beneath the material and grazed her swollen clit, causing her to shudder. He strummed it like you would a guitar, bringing her to the brink of the orgasm before he slowed his movements. Olivia groaned.

"Fitz, don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing you, Livvie, I just want us to take our time," Fitz answered, as he slowly inserted two fingers inside of her. Even though they were surrounded by water, Fitz could _feel_ the slickness coating his fingers as he pumped them in and out of her.

"Oh Fitz," Olivia moaned. He was hitting _that_ spot, the spot that made her mind go blank and focus on nothing but the feeling in her core. Her eyes were open and stared into Fitz's eyes. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated. As Fitz bumped his fingers in and out of her, making sure the curl them at a certain angle to make it even more pleasurable to here, he rocked his hips in time with his fingers, acting like his fingers were an extension of his hardened cock. This time, Fitz let Olivia cum, and her orgasm washed over her as legs clenched and her body arched into his own. Once Olivia found her calm, Fitz kissed her quickly.

"Lets get out of the pool," he said. She nodded in response, grabbing her swim cap and following him up the stairs. Fitz held Olivia's small hand in his larger one and led her to a guest bedroom that wasn't far from the pool area. As they made their way to the room, Fitz explained that he'd turned one of the empty spaces into a big bedroom for sleepovers once Karen got a bit older and understood not to swim by herself at night.

The pair walked through the room, whose bed was always kept freshly made, and went into the en suite bathroom to shower off the chlorinated water off of their skin. It was quick—they were both horny and wanted each other badly on a comfortable surface. After, they quickly patted each other down with a towel. After they were sufficiently dry, Fitz picked her up and carried to the bed. A second after she was on the bed, Fitz pounced on her and claimed her lips once more. Olivia's legs were wrapped around him and both of her hands had a tight hold on Fitz's ass as she kneaded and squeezed it. She could feel his still hardened arousal trapped near her center. She started moving her body against his penis, wetting it with her essence.

"Livvie, you have to stop that," Fitz groaned out.

"Why? I thought you liked it?" Olivia asked rhetorically, pouting her full lips. Fitz chuckled and decided to just ignore comment and, in turn, Olivia decided to still her hips. Fitz kissed his way from her face and down her neck to her breast. Her nipples were pebbled buds that were waiting for Fitz's attentions, attention that he freely gave to them. Fitz laved at her nipples and sucked them into his mouth as if they held an antidote to cure him of anything that would plague him. Olivia's sighs of encouragement just made Fitz all the more determined to make Olivia cum as many times as he could.

Without preamble, her nipple dropped him his mouth with an audible smack sound and he quickly moved his way down to her dripping center. Fitz spread Olivia's thighs wide apart, opening her all the way up and dove in, so to speak. He licked and sucked and did everything that he could go make Olivia reach another peak. At one point he stiffened his tongue and used it go in and out of her opening. The sensations must have been a bit much, because Olivia started pulling away from him, but he wouldn't let her go. He changed the hold that he had on her things to a firmer one and focused all of his attention on her clit. He alternated sucking, flicking, and nibbling and when Olivia has her orgasm, her lower body seemed to levitate off the bed. She grabbed his curls for purchase and rode out the wave of her orgasm with her lower body off the bed and her thighs somewhat clenched around his head.

When her shudders stopped and her body floated back to earth and the bed, Fitz crawled up her body. He was face to face with her and stared into her eyes. "You are so beautiful when you cum. Do you know that?" Olivia shook her head as an answer. Fitz slowly pushed himself inside of her.

"Well, you are. I love to see you release. It's the only time you give up control. I feel honored that you feel safe enough to give up that control with me," Fitz said as he began his slow thrusts into and out of her body.

Olivia wanted to say something about how he was the only person that she felt safe enough to lose control, but couldn't get the words out. She just couldn't be emotionally vulnerable in this moment, she was scared. Scared of how much she would miss, this-him- after the election. Instead of saying anything, Olivia titled her chin up and motioned for Fitz to kiss her her, which he did.

Olivia felt so sated from her two orgasms that she felt limp. She didn't even know if she could move a muscle. That's how good he made her feel and he always made sure she was satisfied before he thought of himself. And because he made her feel so good, she could only do the same for him.

She began moving her hips in time with his, and squeezing her vaginal muscles for his maximum pleasure.

"Oh Livvie, are you trying to tell me you want me to hurry up? Because if you keep doing that, this will be over pretty fast," Fitz said in a groan.

"Now, I just want you to feel as good as you've made me feel tonight," Olivia responded, pushing her hands back into his hair and bringing him down for another soul searing kiss.

Fitz pulled out of the kiss and grinned. "Ok, then." Fitz maneuvered the two of them so that Olivia's thighs rested on his. He grasped her small waist and start pumping, increasing his speed. He loved this and enjoyed the sight of Olivia's breast bouncing up and down in time with his movements. The position left Fitz in total control of her body, and Olivia could do nothing but lay back and enjoy it with her fingers using the top edge of the mattress for purchase.

"Livvie, you feel so damn good."

"So do you." In fact, Olivia was nearing another climax, which surprised her since she thought her body made it clear that she was done for the night. Olivia could tell that Fitz was close to his release as well based on the look on his face. Then, once again, Fitz switched positions on her so fast that she barely had time to register it. He was down chest to chest with her, and had one of her legs hooks over his arm. He hammered into her roughly, and the closer bodily contact led to increase friction on her still swollen and sensitive clit.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck," was all Olivia heard Fitz say, his mouth close to her ear.

"I'm gonna cum, Livvie."

"Me too, Fitz. You're making me cum again."

And Olivia fell off the precipice with Fitz not too far behind her. It took them a long while to catch their breaths, Olivia in particular. _Now_ she could barely move a muscle.

"Oh Fitz. I can't move. I can't even lift my arms!" Olivia said with a small giggle.

Fitz had rolled off of her and was on his back right next to her, his breathing very heavy. "Give me a few minutes, Livvie, and I'll carry you back to your room, ok?"

"Won't someone see?"

"No, it's the middle of the night, everyone is sleeping, don't worry."

"Ok, I trust you."

"Good."

Once Fitz got his breath, he picked Olivia up and sat her in a nearby arm chair. Then he proceeded to make up the bed as good as new. He dropped their used towels in one of the laundry baskets closer to the pool area. He put back on his damp swim trunks and he and Olivia got her swim suit back on her, and made sure to get her swim cap too. Then, he picked her up and carried her all the way back to her room, no one the wiser about what they'd just done.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked.

Olivia, Fitz and Cyrus were seated in one of the informal living areas in the mansion. This room in the house was nice and comfortable, but wasn't frequented as much as the main living room, which was currently occupied by Jerry who tended to take over that room in Saturday mornings. Cyrus sat in an arm chair, across from Fitz and Olivia who were seated with more than a respectable amount of space between them. Olivia's laptop was on the couch facing Fitz; he had been pouring over the information Olivia and Cyrus had put together over the course of the primary in the event that he won Super Tuesday. Olivia and Cyrus had curated a list of possible choices for a running mate, but all of their research kept leading them back to one person-Sally Langston.

"Hell no I'm not sure. But what choice do I have? Liv?" Fitz turned his gaze away from Cyrus to look at Liv. She wore the look of a resigned woman.

"Unfortunately Sally is your best choice for Vice President. Cyrus and I have discussed this at length. We've gone over several potential choices for your VP, but none of them are the right choice if you really want a shot at winning, Fitz."

Your party has, over the years, has veered far to the right. You are very likely too moderate for them to win in November. Putting Sally on the ticket will shore up the base and unify it. Lets just hope nothing happens to you while in office so that we don't have to worry about her filling your shoes!" Olivia joked.

Even though Cyrus was seemingly resigned to putting Langston on the ticket, it didn't stop him from pushing his hand in his hair and running through it and pulling it.

"Ok. None of us like it. But we have to do it. We can make it work as long as she knows to toe the line and defer to your ideology. The two of you need to be a united front, she cannot be allowed to usurp your position," Cyrus stated plainly, in a voice that brooked no dissension-even though neither Olivia nor Fitz would ever disagree with that statement.

With that, Cyrus left the den all the while mumbling about needing a stuff drink.

"It's not even noon yet!" Fitz called out to him, chuckling.

"Somewhere in the world it's noon. I'm going to get a drink and think about why I didn't take that position at Harvard!" Cyrus yelled back.

Olivia grinned at Fitz. "Oh, Cyrus." Fitz smiled in return.

Now that they were alone, Fitz scooted closer to Olivia to the point where their knees were touching. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. Any other time Olivia would have chastised Fitz for his actions, but she knew they were relatively safe now; Jerry was camped put in the living room, Karen was still asleep, and Mellie went to late breakfast with some girlfriends-an invitation which Olivia declined.

"Are you sure you're ok with this, Fitz?" Olivia asked with her hand caressing his cheek.

"Very sure. It will be fine, Liv. Sally isn't the devil incarnate. She will follow my lead, just like I would have followed hers if the situation was reversed. We'll come to a compromise," Fitz finished, pushing his cheek further into the palm of Olivia's hand.

Olivia looked at Fitz searchingly until she was confident that he wasn't keeping any concern from her.

"Ok. We can do this. You're going to become president, Fitz."

"And will you be my side?" Fitz asked her, his fear of her leaving him very evident on his face and in his eyes.

Olivia sighed. "Even if we don't continue whatever it is that we have, I'll never leave your side. Ok?"

Once again, Fitz stopped himself from pushing her. "Ok, Livvie. I'm going to hold you to that. I need you in my life no matter what. I'll take what I can get." In his mind, however, he knew that he would do everything and anything in his power to keep Olivia as his Livvie and not only Olivia Pope in his life.

And he leaned over to kiss her, a kiss she welcomed and returned wholeheartedly, but quickly broke apart when Cyrus came back into the room with a half empty bottle of wine. The pair eyed each other one last time before giving Cyrus and the campaign their full attention.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I bet you all thought I forgot about you and this story (and Fragments, too, for those of you who read it). Well, I haven't. Life has kinda gotten in the way as well as my waning f (and where I see it going) have kind of affected my muse and feelings for continuing to write. But, I've had this chapter outlined for a while (though Cakes and Liz can tell you that I lost it…but I still remembered most of it). It just took time for me to get in the mood to write. So, I hope all of you enjoy—and I made it long since it's been 84 years since the last update! There's only one chapter left…and hopefully it won't take me as long to write it (though a Fragments update is next on the agenda. I was going to add another chapter to Secret Service Agent Musings, but I'm not too keen to write about the canon Scandal universe too much these days. I have an AU idea, though, that I'm playing with. We shall see…). **

**Leave some feedback and comments! xoxo**


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